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COPYRIGHT DEPOStn 



THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 
OF GIRLS AND WOMEN 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALIAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 
OF GIRLS AND WOMEN 



BY 
ALBERT H. LEAKE 

INSPECTOR OF MANUAL TRAINING AND 
HOUSEHOLD ARTS, ONTARIO, CANADA 
AUTHOR OP 
INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION — ITS PROB- 
LEMS, METHODS, AND DANGERS 
AND 
THE MEANS AND METHODS OF 
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1918 

All rights reserved 



/L C / s'o o 



COPTEIGHT, 1918, 

bt the macmillan company. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1918. 



APR -4 1918 



J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



©CLA492827 



PREFACE 

This book is written as a companion volume to Industrial 
Education — Its Methods, Problems and Dangers, and The 
Means and Methods of Agricultural Education. Like those 
books it is addressed to the great army of men and women 
who are concerned with the education of that large majority 
of our population which receives its education in the lower 
schools, and depends upon that education for the develop- 
ment of cultural ideals and vocational aptitudes. It is 
intended to appeal to students in colleges and normal schools 
that offer courses in household arts and other vocational 
courses for women, to school superintendents and princi- 
pals, to directors of vocational schools, to social workers, to 
vocational advisers of girls and women, and to the growing 
number of lay readers who are beginning to study educa- 
tional problems and affairs. 

No attempt has been made to deal with that ever in- 
creasing number of professional occupations into which 
women are now entering, as this branch of the subject is 
not likely to be neglected, and it is felt that the education 
of the fourteen to sixteen year old girl is of more vital im- 
portance to the nation at large. At this time it is essential 
that we should not lose sight of the fact that the character 
of our people will depend even more in the future than it 
has done in the past upon the education we give to our girls 
and to our women. Notwithstanding the new avenues of 

V 



vi PREFACE 

employment opening up to them in industrial, commercial, 
and professional life, owing to reorganized schemes of edu- 
cation, lessening opportunities of marriage, and the with- 
drawal of men from industrial occupations, homemaking 
is and will become more and more the one industry the 
character of which will determine the caliber of the nation. 

Much has been done towards the vocational education 
of girls and women both for homemaking and industrial 
pursuits, but all educational programs have a tendency to 
become stereotyped, and to fail to respond to changed con- 
ditions and new demands. There comes a time when it 
is wise to take an inventory of what has been accomplished, 
to make plans for further progress in view of changed con- 
ditions, and to consider the obstacles that have to be over- 
come before that progress can be made. The aim of the 
book is to do this in the limited though very important field 
to which it addresses itself. 

The primary purpose of this work is not to make original 
contributions to the subjects discussed, though it is hoped 
that these are not absent. The purpose has been to pre- 
sent condensed and clear-cut statements of problems, ex- 
amples of various attempts at their solution, and critical 
estimates both lay and professional, in as impartial a manner 
as is possible, of their respective weaknesses and advantages. 
Little discussion of theory has been attempted. Care has 
been taken to give the authority for practically every im- 
portant statement of fact that has been made. Although 
the book deals mainly with the weaknesses of this branch 
of our educational system it is confidently hoped that a 
spirit of optimism pervades the work, an optimism based 
on the knowledge of progress and achievement in educa- 
tional affairs, inspiring us to greater efforts in the future. 



PREFACE VU 

The book is the result of many years experience in prac- 
tical work in manual training, household science, and in- 
dustrial education in general. The author has had particular 
opportunity to study school conditions at first hand in 
Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, United States, and in 
the government service of the Province of Ontario. 

I am under special obligations to the authorities whose 
works I have quoted so freely; to Miss E. King of the 
Library of the Department of Education, Toronto, whose 
courtesy, whose knowledge of current educational literature, 
and whose industry in searching for required material 
have been of great assistance ; to the Bureau of Education, 
Washington, whose admirable series of bulletins are abso- 
lutely indispensable to the student of education; to the 
authorities of those institutions who have so kindly loaned 
photographs; and finally to my wife, whose careful criti- 
cism, stimulating encouragement, and constant self-denial 
have rendered this work possible. 

Albert H. Leake. 
Toronto, November 1, 1917. 



CONTENTS 



List op Illustrations . . . . . . . xix 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 

I. A Neglected Subject 1 

II. Reasons for the Neglect op the Subject . . 2 

1. Education for girls not considered necessary . 3 

2. Sentiment against the industrial employment of 

women ........ 5 

3. Industrial life of women thought to be short . 5 

4. Girls must be trained for two vocations . . 7 

III. HOMEMAKING WomEN's GREATEST INDUSTRY . . 8 

IV. Talent for Homemaking 9 

V. Women Must Work 10 

VI. Conclusion 11 

PART I 
EDUCATION FOR THE HOME 

CHAPTER I 

The Status op Household Arts Instruction 

I. Homemaking Not Considered a Gainful 

Occupation 15 

II. Number op Women Engaged in Homemaking . 16 

III. Definition of Terms .17 

IV. History of Instruction in Household Arts . 18 

1. Recognition and demonstration of its value . 18 

2. Kitchen gardening 19 

3. Teaching sewing ...... 21 

4. Teaching cookery 22 

ix 



CONTENTS 



V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 



The Present Situation 

Changed Conditions in the Home 

A State Program for Education in the House- 
hold Arts ........ 

Encouragement of Vocational Education by 
Federal Governments ..... 

Report op the Commission on National Aid to 
Vocational Education ..... 



PAQB 

22 
23 



25 



28 



30 



CHAPTER II 
Household Arts Instruction in Elementary Schools 



I. 
II. 



III. 

IV. 

V. 



VI. 



VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 



Introduction .... 
Household Arts Advocates . 

1. The utilitarians . 

2. The manual training advocates 

3. The culturists . 

4. The vocationists 
Two Forms of Household Arts Instruction 
Distribution of Cookery and Sewing Instruction 
Criticism of Instruction in Sewing 

1. Lack of practical value 

2. The exercise method . 

3. Methods adopted in Belgium 

4. Methods adopted in Boston 
Obstacles to Household Arts Instruction in the 

Schools ..... 



1. Rapid industrial development . 

2. Contempt for manual occupations 

3. Insufficient attention in the training schools 

4. Limited time in school schedules 
Teaching Cookery Without Special Equipment 
The Center System 
Character of Equipment 

1. Absence of a coal or wood stove 

2. Changes in Equipment 
Neglect of Laundry Work . 



33 

34 
34 
34 
34 
35 
35 
36 
37 
37 
38 
40 
42 

43 
43 
43 
43 
45 

45 

46 

47 
48 
49 
51 



CONTENTS XI 



XI. Teaching Housewifery 

1. Housewifery school in Toronto . 

2. Housewifery school in Greenfield, Mass. . 

3. Housewifery school in Park Ridge, N. J. . 

4. Housekeeping centers in New York . 

XII. The Teacher 

1. Preliminary training required 

2. Training in service ..... 

XIII. Too Much Expected from the Schools 

XIV. Current Criticism of Instruction in Cookery 

1. Waste of time ...... 

2. Cooking in microscopic quantities 

3. Principles instead of practice 

4. Independence, initiative, and self-reliance not 

being developed ..... 

XV. The Family Meal, the Basis of Instruction 
XVI. Summary of Improvements Needed 



PAGB 

52 
53 
53 
54 
54 
55 
57 
58 
58 
59 
60 
62 
63 

64 
64 
67 



CHAPTER III 
Household Arts Instruction in High Schools 

I. Obstacles to Household Arts in High Schools 69 

1. Girls entering without knowledge of household 

arts ........ 69 

2. The high school a college preparatory school . 70 

3. The high school a finishing school ... 71 

4. Household arts, not cultural or necessary . . 72 

II. Center System not Common ..... 75 

III. Unsuitable Equipment . . . . . .75 

IV. Model Apartments for Teaching Household 

Arts 76 

1. Washington Irving High School, New York . 77 

2. Winthrop Normal and Industrial College, Rock 

HiU, S. C 80 

V. Cooking in Family Quantities .... 81 

1. Methods in Montclair, N. J 81 

2. Methods in Sioux City, Iowa .... 82 

3. Methods in Lucy Flower Technical High School, 

Chicago ........ 84 



Xll 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

VI. Household Arts Instruction without Special 

Equipment 84 

VII. Spending Money, One op Woman's Chief 

Functions 85 

VIII. Two Kinds of Household Arts Instruction 

Needed . 87 

IX. Modern Methods 88 

1. Lucy Flower Technical High School, Chicago . 88 

2. Armstrong Manual Training High School, 

Washington 92 



CHAPTER IV 

Household Arts Instruction in the Home 

I. Opportunities Offered in the Home 
II. The Cooperation of the Parent 

1. Parent-teacher associations 

2. Parents' days 

3. Demonstrations 

4. Luncheons 
III. School Credit for Work Done in the Home 

1. Objections to home credit . 

2. The Crete plan . 

3. Home credit in FrankHn, Ohio 

4. Home credit in Ames, Iowa 

5. Other methods . 



94 

95 
96 
98 
99 
99 

100 
101 
102 
104 
104 
107 



CHAPTER V 
Continued Education in Household Arts 



I. Introduction ....... 

11. Organized Instruction Outside the School 

III. Home School of Providence, Rhode Island 

IV. Classes for Factory Girls in Boston 

V. Part-time Instruction for Housekeepers . 

1. The Montclair experiment .... 

2. The use of the factory organization . 



109 
110 
110 
113 

114 
115 
117 



CONTENTS 



XIU 



VI. 



VII. 



VIII. 
IX. 



X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 
XV. 



XVI. 



Necessity for Judicious Advertising 

1. Methods in London, England . 

2. Advertising to reach the housewife 
Evening Classes .... 

1. Traditions of the day school 

2. Changed methods of approach . 

3. Unit course system . 
The Visiting Nurse 
The Visiting Housekeeper . 

1. QuaUfications .... 

2. Work of the visiting housekeeper 

3. The visiting housekeeper in rural districts 
Movable Schools of Household Arts 
Short Courses 
Demonstration Trains . 
Women's Institutes and Home 

ferences .... 
Government Bulletins . 
Special Agencies 

1. The press .... 

2. Gas and electric companies 

3. Department stores 

4. Insurance Companies 
Private Organizations . 



Makers' 



Con 



PAGE 

118 
119 
120 
123 
125 
126 
127 
129 
130 
131 
132 
134 
137 
139 
143 

143 
145 
147 

147 
148 
148 
149 
149 



CHAPTER VI 

Household Arts Instruction in Prevocational, Hombmaking 

AND Trade Schools 

I. The Prevocational School ..... 152 

1. Purpose, organization, and method . . . 154 

2. Prevocational classes in Boston public schools . 156 

3. Division of time in the prevocational school . 159 

4. North Bennett Street Industrial School, Boston 160 

5. Advantages and disadvantages .... 162 
II. The Junior High School 167 

1. The eight-four plan . . . . . .167 

2. Break between elementary and secondary schools 168 

3. Definition 168 



XIV 



CONTENTS 



4. Advantages 

5. Adaptability to vocational training . 

III. HOMEMAKING TRAINING IN VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS 

1. Manhattan Trade School for Girls 

2. Milwaukee School of Trades for Girls 

3. Shoreditch Trade School for Girls 

4. Albany Vocational School .... 

IV. Schools for Homemakers .... 
1. Stout Institute, Menominie, Wisconsin 

V. HoMEMAKING CoURSES IN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES 
VI. HOMEMAKING SCHOOLS IN DENMARK 

VII. School for Training Maids in Denmark . 



169 
169 

170 
171 
173 
175 
176 

178 
178 
182 

183 

186 



CHAPTER VII 

The Boycott of the Kitchen, or the Domestic Servant 

Problem 



I. 


Introduction 


188 


II. 


A Neglected Question 


189 


III. 


Dislike of Domestic Service 


190 




1. Greater opportunities outside . 


190 




2. Social stigma ....... 


191 




3. Long and irregular hours 


193 




4. Lack of sympathetic consideration 


194 


IV. 


An Old Problem 


194 


V. 


Mistress and Maid 


196 


VI. 


Making Household Service Attractive 


197 




1. Fair and just agreements 


197 




2. Standards of work and wages . 


197 




3. Time for rest, recreation, and culture 


198 




4. Definite hours fixed 


199 




5. Lessening of drudgery 


200 




6. Part of the general labor problem 


203 




7. Abolition of private employment agencies . 


206 




8. Work done outside the home 


208 




9. Mistresses with adequate knowledge . 


208 




10. Better trained maids 


. 209 


VII. 


Cooperative Housekeeping .... 


, 212 



CONTENTS XV 

PART II 
WOMEN IN INDUSTRY OUTSIDE THE HOME 

CHAPTER VIII 
General Considerations 

PAOB 

I. Women's Early Industries . .... 219 
II. Women's Present Industries .... 221 
III. Effect of War upon Employment op Women . 223 
'IV. First Appearance of Women in Outside In- 
dustries 226 

V. Early Vocational Education for Women . . 227 

VI. Divided Opinions on the Employment op Women 229 

VII. Trade Schools for Girls 230 

VIII. Need for Investigation 231 

IX. Vocational Training for the Fourteen-to-Six- 

TEEN Year Old Girl 234 

X. Reasons for Leaving School .... 236 

XI. Part-time Education 237 

XII. Training for Some Industries Seems Impossible 239 

XIII. The Educational Content of Industry . . 241 

XIV. Organization of a Factory School . . . 244 

CHAPTER IX 

The Problem of the Unskilled Worker 

I. What is a Skilled Occupation . . . . 250 

II. The Modern Factory System .... 251 

III. The Problem Common to All Countries . . 252 

rV. Recruiting Unskilled Workers .... 253 

V. Industrial Future of the Unskilled . . . 256 

VI. Seasonal Nature op Women's Trades . . 257 

VII. Remedies Proposed 260 

1. Reduce the supply of unsMUed labor . . 260 

2. Raise the school age to sixteen years . . 262 

3. Continued education 263 

4. Training away from unskilled jobs . . . 264 



XVI 



CONTENTS 



VIII. The Earnings of Children .... 
IX. Adjustment of Industry to New Conditions 
X. Physical Training and Recreation 



PAGE 

266 

268 
269 



CHAPTER X 

Types of Schools and Organizations for the Vocational 
Training of Women 

I. Introduction 271 

II. Differentiated Courses 273 

III. Prevocational Schools 275 

IV. Trade Schools 277 

1. First trade school for girls in Europe . . 277 

2. Trade schools for girls in London . . . 278 

3. Manhattan Trade School for Girls . . . 281 

V. The Teacher 292 

VI. Disposal of the Product 298 

1. Methods at the Manhattan Trade School for 

Girls 302 

VII. Part-time Education ...... 303 

VIII. Women's Educational and Industrial Union, 

Boston 306 



CHAPTER XI 

Evening Schools 

I. Introduction . 
II. Attendance 

III. Types of Schools . 

IV. Essential Features 

1. Prehminary survey 

2. Kind of teacher . 

3. Aid of practical business men 

4. Business methods of advertising 

5. Organization and registration 

6. Admission qualifications 

7. Practical interest of employer 



310 
311 
313 
314 
314 
315 
315 
316 
317 
318 
319 



CONTENTS xvii 

PAOB 

8. Character of equipment . . . , ,319 

9. Regularity of attendance 320 

V. Unit Courses ........ 321 

VI. Efficient Instruction a Complex Problem . 325 

1. Variety of women's occupations . . . 325 

2. Investigation of Women's Occupations . . 327 

3. Lack of previous education .... 328 

4. Length of the working day .... 329 

5. Overtime 331 

VII. Summary of Factors Contributing to Success . 332 

CHAPTER XII 
Education for Office Service 

I. Introduction 334 

II. Little Consideration Given to the Subject . 336 

III. Results Judged by Numbers of Students . . 337 

IV. Criticism of Graduates by Employers . . 339 

1. Lack of elementary knowledge .... 339 

2. Lack of personality 341 

V. Commercial Education in Elementary Schools . 343 

1. Previous education determines position in the office 345 

2. What the elementary schools can do , . . 346 
VI. Commercial Education in the High School . 347 

1. Development of courses in Boston . . . 348 

VII. Pupils Leaving before Completing the Course 351 

VIII. Office Work Becoming Specialized . . . 352 

IX. Private Business or Commercial Colleges . 353 

1. Solicitation of pupils 354 

2. Defects 356 

X. Evening Commercial Schools .... 357 

CHAPTER XIII 
Education for Salesmanship 

I. Methods of Selling Goods 361 

H. A Pioneer School of Salesmanship . . _ . 363 

1. Cooperation of the stores with the school . . 364 



XVm CONTENTS 

FAGB 

2. Objects of the instruction 365 

3. Examinations . 366 

III. Instruction in the Stores 368 

IV. Part-time Instruction 370 

V. New York State Factory Investigating Com- 
mission 371 

VI. Instruction in Boston Schools .... 372 

VII. Agreements between the Stores and the Schools 372 

VIII. Training Teachers 373 

IX. Physical Education op the Salesgirl . . . 375 

CHAPTER XIV 

Vocational Guidance 

I. Introduction , . 377 

II. Rise op the Movement 378 

III. Varying Opinions 381 

IV. Vocational Guidance in Edinburgh . . . 383 
V. Placement of Elementary School Pupils . . 388 

VI. Placement of High School Pupils . . . 389 

VII. Information Needed Regarding Industries . 390 

1. Wages 391 

2. Other information needed ..... 396 
VIII. Vocational Guidance in the High School . . 397 

IX. Qualifications of the Vocational Adviser . 400 

X. Conclusion 402 

Bibliography 405 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Chart Showing Number of Women Engaged in the Various 

Industrial Occupations 17 

Household Arts Kitchen — Normal and Model School, 

Toronto ........ facing . 33 

Saturday Morning Cooking Class — National Housewives' 

League, New York ...... facing . 54''^ 

Work in the Model Kitchen — Washington Irving High 

School, New York ...... facing . 77 

Demonstration in Canning — Henry D. Cooke School, Wash- 
ington, D. C. . . . . . . . facing . 81 

Girls Fitting Garments — Albany Vocational School facing . 152 
Class in Homemaking — Albany Vocational School facing . 176 
Class in MilUnery — Albany Vocational School . facing . 234 
Chart Showing Seasonal Fluctuations in the Cloak, Suit, and 

Skirt Industry, New York 260 

Chart Showing Activities of Women's Educational and Indus- 
trial Union, Boston ........ 275 

Glove Making — Manhattan Trade School for Girls facing . 281 
Operating Department — Manhattan Trade School for Girls 

facing . 291 



^ 



Class in Office Practice — Julia Richman High School, New 

York ........ facing . 334 • 

A Demonstration Sale — Women's Educational and Indus- 
trial Union, Boston facing . 365 - 

Chart Showing Difference in Wages Received by Girls with 

and without Training 394 ' 



X 



XIX 



THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION OF 
GIELS AND WOMEN 

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 

I. A neglected subject. 
II. Homemaking women's greatest industry. 

III. Talent for homemaking. 

IV. Women must work. 
V. Conclusion. 

A neglected subject. The social, economic, and educa- 
tional demands of the twentieth century have forced into the 
realm of practical politics many questions that were pre- 
viously considered as the fantastic dreams of doctrinaires, 
theorists, and visionaries. Among such questions two 
stand out prominently: the position of women and the 
problem of industrial education. At first sight there seems 
to be no intimate relationship between these two questions, 
but on closer examination the connection becomes more ap- 
parent, and they really merge into one problem, which may 
be termed the " woman in industry." 

Until recent years the question of women in industry out- 
side the home was not considered worthy of discussion, and 
any discussion that did take place was directed towards keep- 
ing women out of industry rather than towards helping them 
to work satisfactorily in the occupations in which they were 
engaged. 



2 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

One striking feature of the mass of educational literature 
that has been issued from the press during the last twenty 
years is the attention that has been given to the question of 
industrial education. Though its methods are still perhaps 
chaotic and in a state of flux, its necessity is no longer seri- 
ously questioned. In studying this literature one is im- 
pressed by the fact that remarkably little attention has been 
paid to the industrial education of girls and women. One 
can read thousands of pages without finding a single specific 
reference to the needs and requirements of the girl. Even 
in one of the most recent books the following passage occurs : 
" The discussion deals largely with the work that has been 
developed for boys. It is believed, however, that the prin- 
ciples apply also to the field of girls' work and it is hoped 
that this somewhat neglected side may receive some stimu- 
lus from this presentation."^ 

The basic principles which apply to the industrial train- 
ing of boys and men certainly apply to some extent to the 
training of girls and women, but the points at which their 
training should be differentiated are so many as to make 
the training of girls almost a separate problem. 

In a recent bulletin it is stated that " in the many reports 
published in the United States concerning industrial and 
commercial education in Germany, comparatively little space 
has been given to continuation schools for girls. This has 
been due to the relative unimportance of these schools in- 
dustrially and commercially compared with the schools for 
boys." 2 

There are several reasons which make it advisable to study 

1 Leavitt and Brown, Prevocational Education in the Public Schools. 
' "Problems of Vocational Education in Germany." United States Bureau 
of Education, Bulletin, 1915, No. 33. 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 3 

the vocational education of girls and women as though it 
constituted a problem entirely different and distinct from 
that of the vocational education of boys and men. 

The proportion of women entering industry is constantly 
growing, and this gives rise to special questions as to the 
effect of this increasing employment on the conditions of 
home life and particularly on the rearing of children. The 
condition of women wage-earners is in many respects less 
satisfactory than that of men. 

Fewer skilled occupations are open to women, and they 
are entering the low-paid unskilled industries in larger num- 
bers. Those who enter the industries from fourteen to eigh- 
teen years of age may marry before they reach the age of 
twenty-five, and with this possibility before them they look 
upon their employment as a temporary makeshift and 
therefore are not anxious to learn then' trade properly. As 
a result of this they are able to command wages which aver- 
age only about one half those that are paid to men. The 
legislatures of the various states have long agreed that special 
legislation is necessary for the protection of working women, 
and the Supreme Court of the United States has declared that 
woman's " physical nature and the evil effects of overwork 
upon her and her future children justify legislation to pro- 
tect her from the greed as well as the passion of men." 

The National Society for the Promotion of Industrial 
Education in 1912 appointed a special secretary for the con- 
sideration of women's requirements in the direction of legis- 
lation and education. All these facts tend to prove that the 
vocational education of girls and women needs considera- 
tion apart from that of men. 

Reasons for the neglect of the subject. Education for 
girls considered unnecessary. Until recent years extended 



4 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

education for girls was considered neither necessary nor de- 
sirable. The gentlemen of the court of Charles II thought 
that women were educated enough " if they could spell out 
the recipes of pies and puddings the manufacture of which 
nature had intrusted to their tender mercies." ^ Accord- 
ing to Rousseau women were specially constituted to please 
men, and their training should be devoted to this end: 
'' To please men, to be useful to them, to make themselves 
loved and honored by them, to educate them when young, 
to care for them when grown old, to counsel them, to console 
them, and to make life agreeable and sweet to them, these 
are the duties of women at all times and what should be 
taught them from their infancy." And again he says, " A 
woman of culture is to be avoided like a pestilence, she is the 
plague of her husband, her children, her servants, her friends, 
everybody." ^ 

As late as fifty years ago it was not considered necessary 
to give girls much education. All the training needed for 
the performance of their household duties could be secured 
in the home itself, for there were then many household trades 
carried on which have since found their way into the fac- 
tories. The girl received thorough training for her life work 
and did not need specialization. Even as late as twenty 
years ago the rule for the future of the young girl was simple 
and bald in the extreme. She was directed to concentrate 
her attention first on getting married. If all her efforts 
failed to secure a husband, she tried school teaching, and if 
this in its turn failed, she could try work in another woman's 
kitchen. 

1 "Women in Public Life." Annals of American Academy of Political 
and Social Science, 1914. 

» Darroch, Alexander, Education and the New Utilitarianism, quoted. 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 5 

Sentiment against the industrial employment of women. 
Notwithstanding the historical fact that woman has always 
been in industry, there is a traditional feeling that she ought 
not to be so employed, and this has accounted for a great 
deal of the neglect in her training. We have surrounded 
our girls with an atmosphere of unreality, and allowed our 
conduct to be dictated by principles which do not square 
with present conditions. We seem to have cherished the 
idea that we could teach them a little household science, 
music, fancy work, and other accomplishments, and by the 
time they had absorbed this, they would be ready to settle 
down in homes of their own, carefully protected for the 
remainder of their lives from the confusion and worry caused 
by the rush of modern industry. 

According to the latest census of the United States (1910) 
there were 8,075,772 women ten years of age and over, 
gainfully employed, representing 23.4 per cent of all the 
females of that age. This number does not include the 
women employed in their own homes. Each year many 
thousands of girls fourteen and fifteen years of age are enter- 
ing occupations which are doing nothing to fit them for fur- 
ther usefulness. When we remember these facts, we recog- 
nize that we are confronted with a condition and not a theory. 
Accepting the fact that in the present social and economic 
condition of society, girls in large numbers are, and will con- 
tinue to be, wage-earners, should not every effort be made 
to train them in such a way as to provide that their future 
usefulness will be increased rather than impaired ? 

The industrial life of women thought to he short. There is 
a widespread impression that the industrial life of women 
is short, and that it is only entered into as a temporarj^ ex- 
pedient until they marry. It is frequently stated that women 



6 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

continue to be wage-earners for an average period of seven 
years only, and this statement has been accepted almost 
universally by advocates of industrial education. This 
assumption has influenced profoundly the character of all 
attempts to solve the problem. It will readily be seen that 
training girls who are to remain in industry for only seven 
years is a very different problem from training those who are 
to remain there for the whole of their working lives. Girls 
are unwilling to undertake long apprenticeship for a working 
life which they think will be short. Owing to this idea, the 
tendency is for young girls to enter upon unskilled work 
which brings them an immediate wage return but offers no 
opportunity for advancement. 

Widely as this theory has been accepted there is now 
reason to question its truth. How the idea arose is not clear, 
but that it was based on any statistical evidence is very 
doubtful. The Division of Education of the Russell Sage 
Foundation has now presented some evidence on the other 
side. Seven different occupations were chosen, and an 
attempt made to discover the ages of all the women who 
were employed in them in cities of the United States of over 
50,000 population. The occupations were those in which 
the number of women workers exceeded one for every 
thousand of the population. The number of women engaged 
in these pursuits was 857,743. This was just half of all the 
women engaged in gainful employments in these cities. The 
seven occupations were housekeeper, nursemaid, laundress, 
saleswoman, teacher, servant, and dressmaker. More than 
half of those engaged in each occupation were over the follow- 
ing ages : housekeepers forty, nursemaids thirty-six, laun- 
dresses thirty-four, saleswomen twenty-three, teachers thirty- 
two, dressmakers thirty-one, and servants thirty-seven. 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



While the ages at which these workers entered industry 
could not be ascertained, it is fairly safe to assume that those 
who were working at the age of forty, thirty, and in the major- 
ity of cases at twenty-five, had been so engaged for more than 
seven years. The percentage of women belonging to the 
different age groups is shown in the following table : 





10 TO 15 


16 TO 24 


25 TO 44 


45 to 64 






Yeaks 


Years 


Yeabs 


Years 


65 Yeabs 




11 Months 


11 Months 


11 Months 


11 Months 




Housekeepers 




15.7 


44.6 


32.9 


6.8 


Nursemaids . . 




23.1 


49 


23.7 


4.2 


Laundresses . . 


2.4 


24.7 


49.5 


21 


2.4 


Saleswomen . . 


5.7 


55.2 


34.8 


4.3 




Teachers . . . 




29.5 


58 


11.7 


0.8 


Dressmakers . . 


2.6 


28.9 


51.6 


14.1 


1.8 


Servants . . . 


4.1 


40.8 


42.8 


10.8 


1.5 



From the above investigation the conclusion is warranted 
that if we educate girls only for the duties of ultimate mar- 
riage, and not also for those of industrial life, we are doing 
them a demonstrably grievous wrong. 

Girls must he trained for two vocations. The fact that girls 
must be trained for two vocations, — homemaking and in- 
dustry, — and, owing to the seasonal character of their indus- 
trial work, should in some cases be trained for three, has 
somewhat complicated the problem and led to the postpone- 
ment of attempts at its solution. Thus the education of the 
girl is a double problem. It must include training in two 
distinct vocations, neither of which can be considered suf- 
ficiently permanent to justify the exclusion of the other. 
Though the two vocations have some qualities in common, it 
cannot be said that training in one is adequate preparation 
for efficiency in the other. , 



8 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The education of the boy as compared with that of the 
gu*l is a comparatively simple matter ; for the boy, when he 
has once found himself, enters an industry to stay there as 
long as he is physically fit and industrially efiicient. The 
girl, however, may marry and become a homemaker for the 
remainder of her life ; or, she may be under the necessity of 
having to perform a double function, being compelled to 
support partly the home which she manages ; or, again, she 
may have to return to industry after having been engaged 
for some years in homemaking. All considerations there- 
fore point to the conclusion that a woman should be able to 
support herself outside the home, should the necessity arise 
for her doing so. This, of course, will be disputed, but the 
number of married women and widows in industry is too 
great to allow of any other conclusion. 

Homemaking women's greatest industry. The greatest 
industry in which woman is engaged is housekeeping or home- 
making. In the nimaber of persons engaged, it is ahead of 
all other occupations. According to the thirteenth census 
(1910) there are in the United States about thirty-one million 
women over ten years of age. Of these about one and a half 
million are working in shops and factories, and five and a 
half million are employed in domestic service. Of the re- 
maining twenty-four million no mention is made, since 
homemaking is not considered a " gainful occupation." 
Even when we make allowance for the woman who goes 
back into industry, and for the homemaker who is also a 
wage-earner, it remains true that homemaking is a trade for 
every woman, and the demand is universal. 

The home is still " woman's sphere " and probably for 
most women always will be so. It must not be forgotten, 
however, that the home of to-day is very different from what 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 9 

it was even twenty years ago ; that it is destined to undergo 
still further changes, and that efforts to p^erpetuate it on its 
traditional basis will very largely fail. Too many still look 
upon the household arts as the '' Cinderella " of the educa- 
tional family. When a girl positively cannot make progress 
with ordinary school studies as traditionally taught, she is 
put into the " cookery class." The fact is the domestic in- 
dustries are held in contempt by many women. This has 
gone so far as to attach a social stigma to domestic service. 
Talent for homemaking. It has been thought until re- 
cently that there was no need to teach this industry, since 
every girl acquired the ability to engage in it by instinct, 
directly the necessity arose. " The ability to cook is some- 
thing with which every girl is by tradition endowed. Theo- 
retically she acquires this ability either by inheritance or by 
instinct. No number of poor cooks seem to offset the belief 
that skill in this trade will always come at the call of neces- 
sity. . . . There exists a well-defined prejudice against 

* school-taught homemaking.' This, in part, is due to the 
same ignorance which once looked with suspicion upon the 

* book farmer,' but it is also due to the failure of instructors 
in household science to tie up with home conditions and to 
produce some proofs of efficiency." ^ 

A mistaken idea prevails among many people that the 
ability to use a needle is also the natural endowment of every 
girl. If this is the case, why do we have so many enter- 
ing our Normal Schools at eighteen or nineteen years of age, 
and so many grade teachers, who have to acknowledge that 
they are not able to teach sewing or to make the simplest 
kind of garment ? 

1 "Cooking in the Vocation School." United StatesJBureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1915, No. 1. 



10 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Notwithstanding the apparent popularity of household 
arts instruction throughout the various school systems it has 
had, for various reasons, very little influence on real home- 
making. At a meeting of the Cleveland Board of Educa- 
tion, February 28, 1887, the following statement was made : 
" We read in Public Opinion that a competent statistician 
has estimated that ignorant cooking and bad management 
in the provision of food waste $500,000,000 annually for the 
people of the United States." ^ Though this statement was 
made more than thirty years ago there is reason to believe 
that there is still a great amount of waste which adequate 
instruction could prevent. In view of the large number of 
women engaged in this industry and of its vital importance 
to the national life, radical measures must be taken to bring 
about a different condition. 

Women must work. Women are having a greater 
number of chances to work, but fewer opportunities to 
become really skilled workers. In many and diverse ways 
they are seeking to earn a living for themselves and often 
for others, either from choice or forced thereto by neces- 
sity. Women must work. It is not a time for us to stand 
aside and argue that woman's sphere is the home, even 
if that is an ideal to be held before us. The economic 
condition of numbers of females, particularly in the large 
industrial centers, is such that the daughters cannot remain 
at home. 

In the older countries of the world the number of women 
exceeds the number of men, while on this continent the num- 
bers are rapidly becoming equal. The following table shows 
the number of women to every thousand men in various 
countries : 

> "Art and Industry," Part II. United States Bureau of Education. 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



11 



United States 


. 943 


Scotland 


. 1062.5 


Denmark . . . 


. 1061 


Hungary- 


. 1019 


Belgium . . . 


. 1017 


Italy . . 


. 1010 


Holland . . . 


. 1021 


Canada . 


. . 886 


England . . . 


. 1067.6 


Germany 


. . 1026 1 


Ireland . . . 


. 1003.8 







In some of the above countries the preponderance of women 
over men will be very largely increased as a consequence of 
the present disastrous war, and the functions of women will 
become more and more important the world over. Thus 
if we regard woman from the point of numbers alone, her im- 
portance warrants adequate attention being paid to her 
social, economic, and educational welfare. 

I'he continent of Europe is already faced with an entirely 
new set of problems in regard to the education of girls. A 
large number of occupations hitherto considered to be the ex- 
clusive domain of men have been thrown open to women, and 
in many of these they have proved that they are at least as 
efficient as men, while in some they have proved superior. 
It may be contended that these occupations are temporary 
only, but the existence of economic necessity and the fact 
that women have proved their competency will render a 
number of these occupations a permanent avenue for the 
energies of women. 

Conclusion. In conclusion two important questions are 
forced upon us : how can industry be so modified as to make 
it contribute to the healthy physical development of woman, 
and how can she best prepare herself for industrial occupa- 
tions under the new conditions that will obtain ? The first 
question must be answered very largely by legislation, trade 
unionism, and organization, and the second, by our educa- 
tional authorities in cooperation with enlightened employers. 

1 Canadian Year Book, 1911, Department of the Census, Ottawa. 



12 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The whole subject is a wide one, and this treatment can 
only concern itself with the so-called non-professional occupa- 
tions. Owing to the many points at which it touches our na- 
tional life, it may be fairly considered as one of the most vital 
social, educational, and economic problems of the day. It 
naturally divides itself into two parts : first, the education 
of girls and women for the duties of the home and those occu- 
pations for which training for the home will provide more or 
less adequate preparation, such as the work of dietitians, 
caterers, lunch-room helpers, institutional managers, wait- 
resses, etc. ; and, second, education for industrial and com- 
mercial pursuits in general. 

The following pages deal to some extent with the above 
problems. 



PAET I 
EDUCATION FOR THE HOME 



CHAPTER I 
THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 

I. Homemaking not considered a gainful occupation. 

II. Number of women engaged in homemaking. 

III. Definition of terms. 

IV. History of instruction in household arts. 
V. The present situation. 

VI. Changed conditions in the home. 
VII. A state program for education in the household arts. 
VIII. Encouragement of vocational education by federal govern- 
ments. 
IX. Report of the Commission on National Aid to Vocational 
Education. 

Homemaking not considered a "gainful occupation." 

Homemaking enjoys the proud distinction of being the one 
prevailing industry that is considered by the census authori- 
ties of various countries as a non-revenue-producing occupa- 
tion. English official returns go so far as to place married 
women among the " unoccupied," while the American author- 
ities exclude homemaking and housekeeping from the list of 
gainful occupations. 

The Philadelphia North American makes this interesting 
comment on the United States Census Report on occupa- 
tions : *' It is found that in ninety-three and a half per cent J 
of American homes no servants are employed. Of the nearly 
seventeen million families in the United States, only one mil- 
lion can afford to keep servants. This is a conservative esti- 
mate, since some fortunate housewives employ two or more , 

15 



16 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

servants. Probably where five well-to-do families are able to 
employ a servant, in ninety-five homes the mother does all 
the housework, yet under the law she is not classed among 
the workers, but swells the list of dependents." ^ 

The reasons for this anomaly seem to be the absence of 
any standard by which the value of the housewife's labor can 
be estimated, and the fact that its returns do not come to her 
in a weekly pay envelope. As a matter of fact, except in 
that very limited class of homes where abundant service 
can be supplied out of a large income, the wives responsi- 
ble for the management of the household often work harder 
and longer than the majority of the so-called wage-earners. 
Household labor will never be accorded the respect that is 
paid to the other industries until a proper and satisfactory 
wage scheme is devised for it. The girl who " stays at 
home " should have a definite allowance fixed. The house- 
wife by her labor and management contributes to the family 
income just as surely as does the man who brings in his 
weekly pay envelope. 

Number of women engaged in homemaking. Accord- 
ing to the census of 1910 there are in the United States more 
than forty-four and a half million girls and women. About 
twenty-five million are twenty or more years of age. Of these 
twenty-five million eighty per cent are married, and we may 
fairly assume that as large a proportion of the remainder will 
marry. The chief occupation of these girls will be house- 
keeping, and it will be housekeeping on small means, since 
the average income of a family in the United States, with 
all its colossal wealth, is less than $500 a year.^ 

^ Quoted in Journal of Home Economics, August-September, 1916. 
* National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, Bulletin, 
No. 18. 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 17 

The following chart ^ shows the number of women in 
the United States engaged in the different industrial occu- 
pations, and indicates clearly the great preponderance of 
homemakers. 











/o 






20 


iO 


40 














aomo 








6 800. 000 








^■foo 000 








8 000000 










/e.eooooa 












Zt 000.000. 











In addition to the twenty-one million who are listed here as 
homemakers, it must be remembered that the 7,400,000 
who are included as performing domestic and personal serv- 
ice are largely engaged in home activities. 

Definition of terms. At this stage it will be well to define 
our terms. In no subject of instruction has there existed 
greater confusion of terminology. The subject has received 
many names and no general agreement seems yet to exist. 
Owing to its adoption by the Lake Placid Conference on 
Home Economics and by its successor, the American Home 
Economics Association, the term " home economics " is 
very largely used. This conference, in 1904, adopted the 
following terms : " hand work " for elementary schools, 
"domestic science" for secondary schools, "economics" 
for normal and professional schools, " euthenics " (better 
living) for colleges and universities. With the exception 
of " home economics " these terms have not been adopted 
generally. 

^ Puffer, Adams J., Yocati(mal Guidance. 
C 



18 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The distinction formerly drawn between domestic science 
(cookery, sanitation, household management) and domestic 
art (decoration, dressmaking, millinery, sewing) is rapidly 
disappearing, and the term " household arts " seems to be 
coming largely into use, particularly to describe the work 
done in the public schools. This term is used in several of 
the recently enacted educational laws, and has also been 
adopted by the National Society for the Promotion of 
Industrial Education. As these laws will largely influence 
and control this teaching in the future, and as the following 
pages deal mainly with work lower than college grade, the 
term '' household arts " will be used as a comprehensive 
term to denote all branches of the subject. 

History of instruction in household arts. Instruction 
in household arts has had a long and varied history. Al- 
most from the beginning of any educational system for 
girls, various forms of ornamental needlework, such as 
samplers and embroidery, were taught as accomplishments, 
and they continued to be regarded as such for many years. 
George Eliot in Felix Holt speaks of Mrs. Transcome as 
" engaged in a little dainty embroidery — that soothing 
occupation of taking stitches to produce what neither she 
nor any one else wanted was then the resource of many a 
well-bred and unhappy woman." 

Recognition and demonstration of its value. The recogni- 
tion of the value of the household arts as subjects of school 
instruction was due almost entirely to private enterprise. 
Cooking and sewing were taught as early as 1668 to Indian 
girls by the Ursuline nuns at Quebec, but preparation for 
the duties of the household did not receive serious attention 
either in Europe or America till about 1870. In 1818 an 
address was presented to the New York Legislature by Mrs. 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 19 

Emma Hart Willard petitioning for a state grant towards 
girls' education equal to that given for the education of 
boys. In this connection a curriculum was outlined to 
include " domestic instruction." 

Mrs. Willard wrote : " It is believed that housewifery- 
might be greatly improved by being taught not only in 
practice but in theory. There are right ways of performing 
its various operations, and there are reasons why these 
ways are right; and why may not rules be formed, their 
reasons collected, and the whole be digested into a system 
to guide the learners' practice?'' ^ 

Before the educational authorities would admit the sub- 
ject into the schools its purpose and worth had to be demon- 
strated, and cookery lessons were given to public school 
children by various philanthropic bodies. It should be 
noted that the avowed purpose of the introduction of this 
subject was utilitarian and philanthropic. Those who 
pressed for its inclusion in the school curriculum were im- 
pelled by a realization of the bad and wasteful home man- 
agement then prevalent, to take steps which would lessen 
the evils to the community caused by the ignorance of 
housewives, particularly of the poorer classes. The children 
were gathered together by these benevolent organizations 
and instructed, first, in the elements of needlework, then in 
housewifery under the name of kitchen gardening, followed 
later by lessons in plain cookery. 

Kitchen Gardening. The term " kitchen gardening " was 
generally used to describe the training of children in do- 
mestic work, and this training was largely in the form of 
play. Toy utensils were used, and the operation was con- 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 36. 



20 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ducted on a scale proportioned to the size of the utensil. 
The method was used with children five years old and up- 
wards, but was almost entirely confined to private organiza- 
tions and, perhaps unfortunately, has not been considered 
as of sufficient educational value to be adopted in the kinder- 
gartens of the public schools. 

The method was introduced in 1877 by Miss Emily 
Huntington of New York. The kitchen garden may be 
called the kindergarten of household arts instruction and 
was described by its founder in 1901 as follows : " Kitchen 
garden is a system by which children are taught the many 
little duties, which, when properly performed, go to make 
a home comfortable, except the cooking of food. The 
system is a combination of songs, exercises, and plays, 
designed in a thoroughly practical way to train a child 
in simple household work. It is divided into six distinct 
parts or occupations, each taking a month to master. They 
comprehend the following details : kindling fires, waiting 
on the door, bed making, sweeping and dusting, completely 
arranging a room, with the manipulations of a broom, whisk 
broom, etc. ; also all laundry processes from the preparation 
of the tubs to the polishing and folding; scrubbing; and 
laying a dinner table in the due order of courses. In con- 
nection with this a pricking lesson teaches in kindergarten 
style the parts of beef and mutton and how to cook and 
cut each. Last of all comes the mud pie play. Molding 
clay as a substitute for pastry and dough, the children 
knead bread, turn tiny rolls, cut out biscuits, and make 
pies. All the lessons are enlivened and emphasized with 
appropriate songs. Thus with the simple device of toy 
appliances for real domestic apparatus, the children acquire 
the order, precision, and neatness essential to household 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 21 

service. The age of the children taught varies from six to 
sixteen." ^ 

In one respect the kitchen garden method has a decided 
advantage over the household arts as ordinarily taught 
in the schools, and that is, it stresses general household 
duties. As will be shown later, the household arts have 
been largely restricted to cookery, or at most cookery and 
sewing, though they really include the following subjects 
in addition to the two mentioned : sewing, dressmaking, 
millinery, laundry work, housewifery, hygiene, sanitation, 
and the care of young children. 

Teaching sewing. As far as the public schools are con- 
cerned the movement for the introduction of sewing prob- 
ably started in Boston, where the girls are said to have 
spent time in sewing under their regular teachers as early 
as 1798. Permission was given for needlework in the 
primary schools in 1821, and in 1835 in the second and 
third classes in the writing school. Little was really done, 
however, until about 1865, when a seamstress and dress- 
maker were employed to teach an advanced class for half 
a day each week in the different schools. The materials 
for this work and the salaries of the teachers were provided 
by a private individual. In 1873 a teacher was employed 
to give her whole time, being placed on the same salary 
schedule as the regular teachers on the staff. In 1875 a 
special committee was appointed to supervise sewing in all 
the city schools, but the solicitor to the Board of Educa- 
tion reported that it was illegal to spend money for this 
purpose, and this expenditure had to be stopped. The 
work was not dropped, however, but was carried on for the 

^ Huntington, Emily, How to teach the Kitchen Garden or Object Lessons 
in Household Work. 



22 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

next twelve months by private funds until the Massachusetts 
Legislature in 1876 authorized local school committees to 
teach sewing. Up to the present time, however, sewing 
is far from being universally taught in the schools of either 
Canada or the United States, and in a number of those 
where it is now found it has been regularly introduced 
only within the last ten years. 

Teaching cookery. In 1874 Miss Juliet Corson organized 
cooking classes for women belonging to all grades of society, 
giving both public and private lessons. The first public 
lesson to working women resulted in the formation of mission 
classes in cooking for children, and about the same time 
the principal of Lasell Seminary (Auburndale, Mass.) 
invited Miss Maria Parloa to give a course of lessons to its 
students.^ The New York cooking school was opened by 
Miss Corson in 1876 with an attendance of two hundred for the 
first year. The school included not only a ladies' class but 
a plain cooks' class, children's class, normal class, etc. In 
the same year Miss Johanna Sweeney opened a cooking 
class in Boston, and various private cooking schools were 
established in different parts of the country.^ The subject 
was not introduced into the public schools, even of Boston, 
however, until 1885. Philadelphia, Providence, and Wash- 
ington rapidly followed the example of Boston, and to-day 
cooking courses are to be found in a large number of American 
cities, and the subject is gradually being extended to the 
schools of small towns and even villages. 

The present situation. The present position of household 
arts instruction in the United States is somewhat as follows : 

1 School Training for the Home Duties of Women, Vol. 15, Part 1, Board 
of Education, London. 

2 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, 
BuUetin, 1914, No. 36. 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 23 

definite organized courses were reported in 1914 by 252 
colleges, 159 public normal schools, 2440 high schools, and 
3082 cities, towns, and villages. Only a small part of this 
work is on a really vocational basis, but the general trend 
is now to emphasize the practical in all types of household 
arts work.^ 

Education on this continent is under provincial or state 
control, and the scope and extent of instruction in the 
household arts will depend largely on the provisions, made 
for it in the laws of the various provinces and states. Educa- 
tion for the home is specifically authorized by statute in the 
schools of every province of Canada, and of approximately 
three quarters of the states. All of the New England states, 
all of the middle states except Delaware, all of the southern 
states except West Virginia, Florida, and Alabama, all of 
the central states except Missouri and South Dakota, and 
all of the Mountain and Pacific states except Wyoming and 
Colorado have in one way or another authorized the teaching 
of household arts in their elementary schools, high schools, 
or both. Thirty-three states have authorized the teaching 
in elementary schools, and thirty-three states in secondary 
schools. Up to the present twenty-two states have author- 
ized the teaching of the subject in their rural schools. ^ 

Changed conditions in the home. Since the initiation 
of the movement for the introduction of household arts 
instruction into the schools, the character and condition 
of the homes for which that instruction was expected to 
prepare have materially changed, and it is very much open 
to question whether many of the methods of instruction 

1 Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1914. Washington. 

2 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 37. 



24 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

now in use have fully adapted themselves to those changed 
conditions. Methods in all school subjects tend to become 
stereotyped, and in many cases fail to adapt themselves to 
modern requirements. Until recently manual training af- 
forded a good example of such ossification, and the household 
arts have suffered from the same cause. Old theories and 
traditions of woman's work, education, and sf)here of in- 
fluence do not square with the necessities of to-day. " Do- 
mestic economy needs saving from its friends; it must be 
kept close to home needs; already it has been sterilized 
and schoolmasterized to the loss of its earlier worth." 

The demands made on the housekeeper by modern civiliza- 
tion have changed considerably in their character and are 
gradually becoming more complex. Skill, which was per- 
haps one of the main elements of instruction in the early 
days, is not now sufficient. In days not so very remote 
women actually produced the goods that were consumed 
in the home ; now they are responsible for the consumption 
of goods that are in the main produced elsewhere. They 
are now responsible for selection and not for production 
in the old sense. Much of the work that is now done in 
the schools must be directed towards training them as con- 
sumers rather than as producers. It is even more important 
for them to know how to select materials than for them 
actually to prepare so many things as formerly. It is es- 
timated that ninety-five per cent of the world's goods is 
actually purchased by women.^ 

Since the housewife usually does the buying for the family, 
it naturally follows that she controls the markets, not only 
the production of the goods but all the conditions surround- 
ing their production and distribution. She must be a good 

1 Talbot, Marion, The Education of Woman, 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 25 

buyer, she must know prices, she must have a knowledge 
of materials and their fitness, she should know what it 
costs to produce things and where and how they are made. 
Owing to the lack of this knowledge " it is not strange that 
most women are the slaves of the manufacturer even to the 
extent of having the size of their hats and the shape of their 
bodies determined for them, or that shops are crowded 
with useless, tawdry, inartistic goods." ^ I 

When women have realized their responsibility in these 
matters and are adequately trained, we shall have no more 
adulterated foods, short weights and measures, and unsani- 
tary shops. It is precisely in these respects that the house- 
hold arts movement has failed to some extent to keep pace 
with the social and economic changes that have taken 
place during the last twenty years. We are living at a 
time of economic pressure. Our attention has hitherto 
been concentrated on efficiency of production, and consump- 
tion has been allowed to take care of itself. Now national 
economy demands that attention be paid to intelligent 
consumption, and the education of the woman who spends 
is a legitimate function of the household arts instruction 
to be given both in and out of our schools. 

A state program for education in the household arts. A 
state program of education for the home ought to receive 
the most careful consideration, and should include the 
following features : ^ 

(a) The inclusion of household arts instruction in every 
elementary school. 

(6) Adequate state supervision by an expert inspector 

1 Talbot, Marion, The Education of Woman. 

2 Adapted in part from ' ' Education for the Home. ' ' United States Bureau 
of Education, Bulletin, 1914, No. 37. 



26 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

whose duties should include the promotion of general in- 
terest in the subject, as well as the actual inspection of the 
schools. 

(c) Household arts included as a part of the normal train- 
ing of every grade teacher in order that she may be able 
to teach the subject to her own pupils in the same way 
that she teaches any other school subject. The idea that 
effective instruction in household arts can be given only 
by the specially trained teacher has probably operated 
more than any other single cause to hinder its introduction 
into the schools of small towns and villages whose resources 
will not allow them to employ a special teacher. 

(d) Adequate training for specialists who are to spend 
their whole time teaching the household arts. One year 
of professional training has been found satisfactory for 
ordinary work, but teachers who intend to take supervisory 
positions should take three, or preferably four, years' training. 

(e) Special state or provincial grants until the work comes 
to be regarded as essential as the old-time subjects. These 
grants should be allocated in such a way as to encourage 
local effort. A lump sum without rigid conditions is never 
satisfactory. The grant should depend upon a satisfactory 
report from the state inspector.^ 

(/) A system by which small towns and rural districts, 
where the work is not sufficient to employ the whole time 
of one teacher, or whose resources do not permit them to 
pay the salaries of such teachers, may enter into a cooperative 
arrangement by which they can employ a teacher to spend 
a day or two in each place. The rapid extension of electric 
railway lines throughout the country now makes it possible 

1 "Manual Training and Household Science Regulations." Ontario De- 
partment of Education, Toronto. 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 27 

to link up groups of schools for cooperative work of this 
character. No system which fails to make adequate pro- 
vision for its rural schools can be considered as even reason- 
ably efficient. 

(g) Household arts teaching should be encouraged in all 
high schools, and if not made compulsory should, at any 
rate, be offered as an elective. Considering the character 
of the equipment required in such schools, and the salaries 
that ought to be paid to teachers therein, the state grants 
for these schools could well be higher than those paid to 
elejEnentary schools. 

(h) Household arts should be given a place in the system 
/f of industrial education at least equal to that given to train- 
ing for industrial, commercial, or agricultural pursuits. 
The position of household arts as an industry for which 
training is necessary and legitimate must be fully recognized. 

{i) The subject should be given special attention in the 
seventh and eighth grades of the public schools. Pre vo- 
cational or junior high school classes can be formed for 
these grades without at all encroaching on the subjects 
which are considered fundamental to a general education. 

(j) To carry on the work after the close of the elementary 
school period, schools of a decidedly vocational character 
should be established. These schools will have to provide 
for several distinct classes of students — the woman manag- 
ing her own household, the young girl who assists her mother, 
the wage-earning houseworker or maid, and that large class 
of wage-earning young women who are at present engaged 
in other employment, but who desire to improve their skill 
in and knowledge of housekeeping with a view to future 
possibilities. 

(k) The higher institutions of learning should provide in- 



28 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

struction of an advanced grade and make provision for all 
forms of research work relating to the household and its 
activities. 

(Z) An adequate system of extended education to reach 
those out of touch with the schools. This should cover 
the whole state, and all religious and philanthropic agencies 
should be engaged in it. Movable schools of homemaking, 
modeled perhaps on the movable schools of agriculture, 
are a necessity in most rural districts, and the work of 
visiting teachers as consultants may be developed in con- 
nection with the farm demonstration work in agriculture. 
In many cities visiting nurses and visiting housekeepers 
have been appointed with the object of preventing disease 
and improving home conditions. The need for work of 
this kind is probably as great throughout the rural districts. 

Encouragement of vocational education by the federal 
governments. Though education on this continent is, 
according to the constitutions, exclusively under the direc- 
tion and control of the different states and provinces, the 
national governments have assisted its extension and prog- 
ress in many ways without interfering unduly with its 
organization and administration. This has been done in 
the following ways : 

(a) By the Morrill acts establishing the land-grant colleges 
in 1862. A number of these institutions devote considerable 
attention to household arts instruction. 

(h) By federal grants for agricultural research, from the 
results of which the home has derived much benefit. Par- 
ticularly has this been the case in scientific investigations 
of nutrition made by the experiment stations and by the 
United States Department of Agriculture. 

(c) By the bulletins issued from time to time by the 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 29 

Bureau of Education and the Department of Agriculture. 
There has been estabHshed recently in connection with the f 
Bureau of Education a division of home education from 
which much may be expected, and specialists in home 
economics have also been appointed. 

(d) By the adoption of the Smith-Lever and the Smith- 
Hughes bills which offer financial assistance to the different 
states. The appropriation under the former bill begins at 
$480,000, increasing each year until it continues permanently 
with an annual appropriation by Congress of $4,580,000. 
As each state must make an appropriation equal to its share 
of this sum, it means that when the act is in full operation, 
more than nine million dollars a year will be available for 
extension work in agriculture and home economics.^ This 
law makes possible home betterment work in rural districts. 
The grants are intended to assist extension work only, and 
by this is meant instruction and practical demonstrations 
in agriculture and home economics to those not attending 
or resident in agricultural colleges. 

The Smith-Hughes bill provides for three separate ap- 
propriations, any one of which a state may accept. The 
first is for the training of teachers of agricultural, trade, 
industrial, and home economics subjects ; the second is for 
agricultural education including home economics ; the third 
is for education in trades and industries. 

For the training of teachers in all these subjects the 
measure proposes $500,000 the firstVear, increasing annually 
till $1,000,000 is reached the fourth year, and then con- 
tinued as an annual grant divided among the states in pro- 
portion to their total population. For education in agri- 

1 Report of Commissioner of Education, 1914. United States Bureau of 
Education, Washington. 



rrr' 



30 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

culture for boys and home economics for rural girls the 
measure proposes $500,000 the first year, increasing annually 
till $3,000,000 is reached the eighth year, and then con- 
tinuing as an annual grant among the states in the pro- 
portion their rural population bears to the total population 
of the United States. The Commissioner of Education is 
the executive officer of the federal board provided to ad- 
minister the fund. 

(e) The Canadian government, too, has assisted largely 
in the development of household arts instruction throughout 
the different provinces. This has been done through " The 
Agricultural Instruction Act," which received the Royal 
Assent June 6, 1913. This act provides for the distribution 
of ten million dollars in ten years, beginning with $700,000 
the first year and increasing by $100,000 for four years, 
when the amount to be divided among the provinces will 
have reached $1,100,000, and will there remain until the 
end of the decade. Before division there are two provisions 
that have to be satisfied ; namely, one of a grant of $20,000 
to the veterinary colleges and another of $20,000 to each 
of the provinces regardless of population. After deducting 
this $200,000 the remainder is to be divided yearly among 
the provinces according to population.^ 

The uses to which this money is put must be approved 
by the Commissioner appointed to administer the act and 
he has in every case sanctioned the allocation of considera- 
ble sums towards instruction in household arts through 
the schools and various forms of extension service. 

Report of the Commission on National Aid to Vocational 
Education. In January, 1914, the Congress of the United 

1 "Agricultural Gazette of Canada," Nov., 1915. Department of Agri- 
culture, Ottawa. 



THE STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION 31 

States created a commission '' to consider the subject of 
national aid to vocational education and to report their 
findings and recommendations." This commission is said 
to have done two very remarkable things. It conducted 
its investigations and sent in its report by the time set, 
and turned back into the public treasury one third of the 
$15,000 appropriated for its expenses. 

The Smith-Hughes bill referred to above was largely 
based on the findings of this commission. The following 
may be quoted as showing its attitude towards instruction 
in the household arts. " While approving of every possible 
means of extending the more scientific studies and research 
for the development of home economics, the commission 
feels that the particular need at the present time is for 
material which will reach down to the average girl who 
goes neither to high school nor to college but on whose 
training for the care of a home and family the future welfare 
of society will largely depend." 

The sympathetic attitude of the commission towards the 
subject and its definite recognition of homemaking as an 
industry make it difiicult to resist the temptation to quote 
largely. One more important statement may be given. 

" The problem of home economics training for the great 
mass of girls who spend their early years in stores, shops, 
and factories is also one for serious consideration and in- 
vestigation, and one that has yet hardly been touched, 
although perhaps it is more important and far reaching 
than any other. Especially needed are such studies as re- 
late to the purchase and care of clothing, the conservation 
of health, and the maintaining of efficiency through proper 
food and exercise, the planning of personal and household 
budgets, and the proper sanitation and ventilation of home 



32 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and workroom surroundings. Such studies as these and 
many others will be greatly needed in the development of 
part-time schools for girls who are already at work and 
would also be highly valuable in developing courses for 
young housekeepers who have not had the opportunity for 
such training in our schools.'* , 
yJ^A general review of the whole question of instruction in 
the household arts and kindred industries seems to point 
to the conclusion that the future is bright with promise. 
The time has come, however, when it is necessary to take 
stock of the general methods and organization in use, in 
order that the training now given may be extended, and 
made more efficient with a view of meeting the new condi- 
tions imposed by the changes in our economic and social 
organization. 



CHAPTER II 

HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY 

SCHOOLS 

I. Introduction. 

II. Household arts advocates. 

III. Two forms of household arts instruction. 

IV. Distribution of instruction in cookery and sewing. 
V. Criticism of instruction in sewing. 

VI. Obstacles to household arts instruction in the schools. 

VII. Teaching cookery without special equipment. 

VIII. The center system. 

IX. Character of equipment. 

X. Neglect of laundry work. 

XI. Teaching housewifery. 

XII. The teacher. 

XIII. Too much expected from the schools. 

XIV. Current criticism of instruction in cookery. 
XV. The family meal the basis of instruction. 

XVI. Summary of improvements needed. 

Introduction. The development of household arts in- 
struction in elementary school's has paralleled, to a great 
extent, that of manual training, and in many localities the 
household arts are classed as manual training and have shared 
in the odium that formerly attached to that term. The 
original underlying motive for the introduction of the house- 
hold arts into the schools was, as has been said, philan- 
thropic and utilitarian. Just as manual training was advo- 
cated on the grounds that it would give us better mechanics, 
so the household arts were urged because it was thought that 
D 33 



34 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

such instruction would give us better housekeepers and 
homemakers. The fact that both subjects have largely failed 
to accomplish their original purpose has led to apathy, con- 
troversy, and opposition. Later, this original utilitarian 
purpose was somewhat strongly criticized, and the peda- 
gogical and social value emphasized. 

Household arts advocates. The advocates of household 
arts instruction may be now divided into four classes, and 
their varying opinions have influenced to a considerable de- 
gree the methods of organization adopted in different parts 
of the country. These four classes may be described as 
follows : 

The Utilitarians. The utilitarians insist that girls shall be 
given instruction in cooking, sewing, and general household 
management with the sole view of preparing the home- 
makers of the future for the duties which will fall to their lot. 
They ask that practical work in these subjects shall be placed 
in the curriculum, so that the large number of girls who leave 
school before finishing the elementary course shall have the 
opportunity of taking such instruction, and that the course 
shall have direct bearing upon the immediate economic ne- 
cessities of the pupil, the power to do things receiving more 
emphasis than the reasons for the processes. 

The manual training advocates. These expect the intro- 
duction of the household arts to bring about the development 
of rapid observation, training, and correlation of hand and 
eye by means of practice. They also hope to give added 
dignity to household labor and all the activities of the house- 
hold. It will be seen that these purposes are very much the 
same as it is now hoped to accomplish by manual training 
for boys. 

The Culturists. These insist upon the educational value 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 35 

of the subject, entirely apart from immediate utility or from 
the possible acquirement of manual dexterity. It would 
be difficult to say which has hindered the extension of the 
subject more — the utilitarians or the culturists. A recog- 
nition of the fact that neither of these opinions is the right 
one has led to a conclusion which is really a combination of 
their two points of view. 

The Vocationists. These contend that the household arts 
form a distinct vocation for which training and preparation 
is needed. Formerly the term " trade school " was held in 
contempt, as it was thought that trade training excluded all 
liberal education, but now that conception is radically 
changed, and it is recognized that adequate trade training 
cannot be given without at the same time paying much at- 
tention to what is called culture. Cultural training and 
vocational training are not mutually exclusive terms. Each 
includes the other, and the newer view of household arts in- 
struction is based on the opinion that if it is to achieve its 
purpose, which in the main is home betterment, both ele- 
ments must be included, the emphasis being placed where it is 
demanded by the age, capacity, and condition of the student. 

It may be said with a fair degree of accuracy that at present 
the cultural aim dominates the teaching of household arts on 
this continent, and this aim forms the basis of much of the 
adverse criticism that is current. The new demand, not for 
lessening the cultural but for the stressing of the vocational, 
forced on the schools by the social and economic changes of 
the twentieth century, makes imperative certain changes in 
methods and organization which traditional academic prac- 
tice renders it difficult to accept. 

Two forms of household arts instruction. Household 
arts instruction in the elementary school may be divided into 



36 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

two kinds. First, that form of the work which demands no 
equipment, or so little that it is within the capacity of the 
poorest school to secure, and second, that type of instruction 
which requires stoves, cooking utensils, and other apparatus 
often costing considerable sums. The first form includes 
sewing and general talks on house cleaning and sanitation, 
while the second includes what is now generally understood 
by cookery. It may be classified also according to whether 
a special teacher is or is not essential, but this division will 
be dealt with in a later section. 

Distribution of sewing and cookery instruction. In a recent 
investigation conducted by the Bureau of Education it was 
found that of 390 communities furnishing information as to the 
elementary school curriculum seven (two per cent) offer cook- 
ery alone and 165 (forty-two per cent) offer sewing alone, while 
218 (fifty-six per cent) offer both cookery and sewing. The 
tendency thus seems to be, to offer both subjects, while if one 
only isprovided, sewing is the favored subject, doubtless be- 
cause little equipment is necessary and it can be taught by 
the regular grade teacher, and does not necessitate the em- 
ployment of a specialist. This tendency is shown also in 
the sequence or order of introducing sewing and cookery. Of 
390 cases 134 introduced cooking and sewing simultaneously ; 
in seven cases cookery alone had been introduced ; and in 
twenty-four cases cookery first introduced had been followed 
by sewing ; in 165 cases sewing alone had been introduced, 
and in sixty cases sewing first introduced has been followed 
by cookery; that is, if cookery has been first introduced 
there has been a chance of 3.4 to 1 that sewing would be 
added, while if sewing was started first, there has 'been a 
chance of only 0.36 to 1 that cookery would be added. 

In the investigation above referred to it was found that 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 37 

in the schools reporting, sewing was taught in the first grade 
in twenty schools ; in the second grade in twenty-five schools ; 
in the third grade in forty-five schools ; in the fourth grade 
in eighty-two schools ; in the fifth grade in 236 schools ; in 
the sixth grade in 345 schools ; in the seventh grade in 377 
schools ; and in the eighth grade in 316 schools. It will thus 
be seen that sewing has been taught in all grades, but has been 
most commonly placed in the four upper grades, and of these 
more often in the sixth and seventh grades than in the fifth 
and eighth grades.^ 

The above figures lead to the conclusion that an impression 
exists that sewing cannot be taught satisfactorily to the lower 
grades, as it will be seen that only ninety schools report sew- 
ing as taught in the three lower grades. The experience of 
other countries does not bear out this impression. In Eng- 
land the subject is taught in every grade of the elementary 
schools and is compulsory. In all schools for girls and in all 
mixed schools sewing is on an equality with the traditional 
subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic and has as much 
time devoted to it. In the primary schools of France, Ger- 
many, Belgium, and Switzerland the same conditions hold. 
In the Province of Ontario there is a course of study in use 
which provides for instruction in the eight grades of the ele- 
mentary schools. This syllabus has been in operation for 
some years, and where adopted is accomplishing the results 
desired. 

Criticisms of instruction in sewing. It now will be perti- 
nent to consider some of the more important adverse criti- 
cisms leveled against sewing as taught in the schools. 

Lack of practical value. Probably the most frequent 

^ "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 37. 



38 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

criticism heard is that the sewing as taught is of no practical 
use, and certainly its failure to connect with the home and 
actual needs has hindered its growth and extension. One 
parent says: '' I don't expect the girl to learn dressmaking, 
but if she were taught only to use a pattern, how much she 
could help me with the younger children's clothes and what 
a saving it would be ? Another says : " If the girl could only 
do some by herself without waiting for the teacher to tell her 
what to do next, what a help she would be to me. She has 
brought home a garment which she says she made, but when 
I have given her cloth to do the same at home, she can do 
nothing." 

" At a school in one of the poorest districts in Chicago, 
on a warm June day this summer, children were at their 
gymnastic work in the yard still sewed into the heavy 
woolen underwear they had worn all winter. At the same 
time in their beginning sewing they were working on pin- 
cushions, small bags, fancy holders, etc. There seemed 
to be no connection in the minds of the children between 
sewing and the idea of clothing, and yet these chil- 
dren were old enough to be making the actual underwear 
needed for that time of the year. It is not less knowledge 
that we need — less theory if you choose to call it so — but 
it is more knowledge carried directly into living." ^ 

The " exercise " method. The method still largely in use 
is the exercise method which has been so discredited in the 
case of manual training that it has been generally abandoned. 
Since sewing was introduced at about the same time as 
manual training, it was thought necessary in many cases to 
maintain parallelism between the two subjects, and though 

* Addresses and Proceedings of the National Education Association, 
1914. 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 39 

the method has been dispensed with in one case, it has been 
retained in the other. The various " stitch forms " dealt 
with as so many exercises are worked out on pieces of un- 
bleached calico about four and a half inches square to nine 
inches by five inches in size. Rows and rows of these stitches 
are practiced until the girl becomes fairly proficient. In 
the process she loses interest, becomes dull and listless, and 
looks upon the work as a task to be got rid of as soon as pos- 
sible. These pieces of calico are then fastened into a book, 
which is supposed to be retained by the girl and used as a 
reference book when the necessity arises. Unless the acqui- 
sition of the ability to make the stitches be followed by their 
immediate application to a garment or other useful article, 
simple though it may be, the method is decidedly unsatis- 
factory and works rather in the direction of prejudicing the 
girl against sewing than of encouraging her in its pursuit. 

An English observer, in describing this method in one of 
the schools of the United States says, " Thirty pieces of 
needlework must be completed within the two years ; as a 
consequence, very small samples of each stitch or of its appli- 
cation are possible, and the results as observed did not appear 
to be very satisfactory. The boys were interested, eager, 
and happy (at woodwork) ; the girls uninterested, bored, and 
rather careless. This introduction to * manual training* 
is succeeded in grades seven and eight by cookery for the 
girls and carpentry for the boys : the change of attitude 
among the girls was significant and striking." ^ 

No sane advocate of the cultural aim would contend that 
practice is not necessary, but it must be practice the applica- 
tion of which is apparent to the girl. After three or four 

» "School Training for the Home Duties of Women," Vol. 16. Special 
Reports, London, England. 



40 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

stitches have been worked they should be appHed to a useful 
article. After this, one or two new stitches should be prac- 
ticed, and these and the ones previously learned again ap- 
plied. It is perfectly feasible to organize courses on this 
principle. The home applications should be stressed through- 
out, and mending and repairing, as well as making, should 
receive adequate consideration. Numerous courses have 
been drawn up for teaching sewing in the elementary schools, 
but very few of them pay any attention to this branch of the 
subject. 

Methods adopted in Belgium} The organization and meth- 
ods of teaching needlework in the Belgian schools offer 
us many useful suggestions. The general ordinance of Maria 
Theresa, published December 6, 1774, contains the follow- 
ing : " La ou il y a des ecoles distinctes, les filles seront 
instruites separement. On leur enseignera autant que pos- 
sible la couture, le tricot, et tout ce qui est convenable a leur 
sexe." But notwithstanding this it was not till 1879 that 
needlework was made compulsory in primary schools for girls. 

The needlework instruction aims chiefly at practical 
results directly applicable in the homes. The teacher dem- 
onstrates everything on a large scale before the class so 
that all may see; for instance, the knitting stitch in the 
lower standards is shown with large needles and wool of two 
colors, so that each row of stitches is distinguishable. In 
sewing, the different stitches are first demonstrated on canvas 
upon a frame with a large needle and thick, colored thread 
similar to the demonstration frame used in many American 
schools. After each stitch is learned it is practically applied. 
When pieces of work are too difficult for the lower standards 

1 "School Training for the Home Duties of Women," Vol. 16." Special 
Reports, London, England. 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 41 

to finish, they are completed by the pupils of the higher 
grades, in order to teach cooperation ; for instance, children's 
petticoats knitted in strips by the little ones are joined and 
put into a waistband by the children of the upper grades. 
All the work is done actual size and not on a reduced scale. 

Particular attention is given to mending in the schools of 
European countries. In the elementary schools of Belgium 
the practical mending of garments is taught from the fourth 
school year onwards. A '^ table of mending " drawn up by 
the teacher is posted in many schools, giving an account of 
the mending done by each pupil during the year, with the 
object of encouraging the bringing to school of torn garments 
from home and of overcoming the false shame some of the 
children feel in so doing. 

When opportunity offers, the lessons in other subjects are 
correlated with the lessons in needlework. In arithmetic 
the little ones calculate the cost of the wool that has been 
used; in the higher grades they are taught to calculate 
beforehand the cost of the stuff and materials, and also 
the comparative cost of the homemade and the bought 
article. Drawing and language are also correlated in the 
same way. 

One striking feature of the instruction given is the atten- 
tion that is paid to economy. The greatest care is taken 
to teach the pupils to waste nothing; scraps of material 
left over from the making of underclothing, for. example, are 
made into nightdress bags. Similarly with knitting, a prac- 
tical use is made of everything. Squares by which increasing 
and decreasing is learned will be joined together, feather- 
stitched, edged with crochet, and so made into a cot cover. 
A small practice piece of plain knitting made in the first year 
will be edged with crochet and made into a child's bib. 



42 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Methods adopted in Boston. In one of the Boston schools 
during the year 1914 a special class of twenty-four girls, from 
two eighth grades, who had shown special ability in this di- 
rection, was formed to take sewing on practical and trade 
lines. Two hours were allowed each week. After much 
plain sewing and machine practice, the girls selected and 
bought materials for dresses for themselves. Each girl 
made at least one dress, some made two, others three, and 
one girl made seven. The cost of the dresses when com- 
pleted varied from forty-five cents to $1.35. The time taken 
was from six to sixteen hours. Economy in buying and cut- 
ting were stressed. Two sales were held, the girls taking full 
charge. Two were chosen from their number for salesgirls, 
two for cash girls, two for bundle girls, and one for cashier. 
In addition to the practical character of the training, the 
results seem to have been that many of them placed their 
application to attend the trade school and the high school 
of practical arts the next September. 

In another school a " mending squad," consisting of three 
^irls to each floor, calls out any girls who have buttons miss- 
ing or other minor defects in their dress. If a girl appears too 
often, she attends to the missing button after school. By 
comparison the defects were reported as follows : 

Oct. 10, 1913, June 8, 1914, 
100 girls 10 girls 

283 buttons 8 buttons 

7 buttonholes 
23 hooks 5 hooks 

9 eyes 3 eyes 

Examples such as those cited above show, to some extent, 
what may be done towards linking up the subject with the 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 43 

real needs of practical life without at all lessening the edu- 
cational value of the work. 

Obstacles to household arts instruction in the schools. The 
obstacles which have prevented the general spread of the 
subject throughout all the schools of the country may be 
stated as follows : 

Rapid industrial development. Systems of education find 
it difficult to keep pace with the rapid development of the 
country. In many cities the schools are congested, and the 
problem of building new schools is a constant one. In some 
localities the children can only attend school half of the day, 
owing to lack of the necessary accommodation/ and various 
schemes are being resorted to such as the Gary system in order 
to accommodate all the children. In many rural districts the 
length of the term, and the time the children attend, is so 
limited that subjects which it is thought may still be ac- 
quired in the home do not find a place in the school time-table. 

Contempt for manual occupations. There still exists in the 
minds of the majority of people the impression that learning 
acquired from books is the only avenue to culture and pros- 
perity. The value and dignity of manual occupations have 
not yet been universally recognized. The average parent is 
quite willing to admit that it is noble for his neighbor's boy 
or girl to work with the hands but not for his own, and this 
widespread contempt for manual labor has played a large 
part in the opposition to the introduction of handwork into 
the schools. 

Insufficient attention in the training schools for teachers. 
It is unfortunate from many points of view that the idea 
has grown up that all the different branches of the household 
arts require a special teacher who shall teach these subjects 
and nothing else in the school curriculum. There is no valid 



44 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

reason why the ordinary grade teacher should not be able 
to qualify herself for the efficient and practical teaching of 
sewing, at least in the lower grades of the elementary school. 
In English schools sewing is a regular subject, and every girl 
taking the examination for the teacher's certificate is re- 
quired to pass in plain needlework just as she is required to 
pass in other subjects, and failure to do so means rejection. 
The Ontario course of study in needlework has been pre- 
viously referred to. With a view towards assisting the un- 
trained or partially trained teacher to carry out this syllabus, 
the education department of that province has issued a 
manual on sewing in which full instructions are given to the 
teacher regarding methods and class management. It is 
thoroughly well illustrated, every stitch form and its appli- 
cations being shown. This manual is being adopted in other 
provinces of the dominion and is of such a character that by 
its aid any teacher of ordinary ability can make an effective 
beginning in the teaching of the subject, and, as a rule, it is 
the beginning only that is required. 

As a matter of fact some of the best instruction in sewing is 
given by the regular grade teacher. It has been found that 
a much better all-round educational result is secured in the 
first six grades when it is so done. The grade teacher knows, 
or should know, the character and ability of the individual 
pupil much better than a teacher imported for one or two 
hours a week, and she can relate in a much closer way the 
work done in that subject with that done in the other sub- 
jects of the curriculum. The obstacles to this plan are 
usually to be found in large classes and the lack of training 
of the teacher ; but there is now a decided tendency to reduce 
the size of classes, and no teacher, in view of the greater at- 
tention that is being given to sewing in the training schools, 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 45 

and the provision that is being made in summer schools, need 
remain without a fair knowledge of the subject. 

Limited time in school schedules. The limited time that 
has up to the present been allowed for the subject in school 
schedules has warranted the suspicion that it is only being 
played with. In the English and Belgian schools the time 
allowed for sewing is from two and a half hours to three hours 
each week, and in this length of time something worth while 
can be done. In the United States the time given to sewing 
each week in the different grades varies as follows: first, 
forty to forty-five minutes ; second, forty-five minutes ; third, 
forty-five minutes ; fourth, fifth, and sixth, sixty minutes ; 
eighth, seventy-five minutes. The table following shows the 
general tendency of time allotment for the subject : ^ 



No. OP 
Grade 


Schools 

Reporting 

Instruc- 


Shortest 

AND Longest 

Time Re- 


Median 

Number op 

Minutes 


Minutes 

Taken as 

Limits to In- 


Modal or 

Most Frequently 
Reported Time 




tion IN 
Grade 


ported IN 

Minutes 


Reported 


clude Half 
the Schools 


FOR Grades 


1 


20 


20-100 


40-45 


30-60 2 


30-60 


2 


25 


20-100 


45 


30-60 3 


30, 60 


3 


45 


20-140 


45 


40-60 3 


30, 40, 45, 60 


4 


82 


25-180 


60 


45-60 3 


30, 45, 60 


5 


236 


25-450 


60 


45-60 3 


40, 45, 60, 90 


6 


345 


25-225 


60 


60-90 3 


40, 45, 60, 75, 

80,90 


7 


377 


25-600 


75 


60-90 3 


60,90 


8 


. 316 


30-600 


75-80 


60-90 3 


60, 75, 80, 
20, 120 



Teaching cookery without special equipment. The other 
branch of household arts instruction that is usually found 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1914, No. 37. 

2 Includes 75 %. s Includes 50%. 



46 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

in the schools is cookery, and as this generally necessitates 
special equipment, it is thought that nothing can be done 
without it, but even where no practical work is possible, 
much of the related theory may be taken with advantage. 
In the code for English schools there was included, for many 
years, a subject called " domestic economy." A regularjtext- 
book was used which included general talks and lessons on 
foods, sanitation, table service, hygiene, manners, and other 
kindred features of family and home life. In many schools in 
the United States an attempt has been made, with more or 
less success, to have practical work done at home, or in home 
kitchens, and the theoretical and descriptive work done in 
school. The connecting of the course in household arts with 
the home in this and similar ways is of such extreme im- 
portance that it will be dealt with in a separate chapter. 
It may be said here, however, that instruction in household 
arts need not wait for either special teachers or special equip- 
ment in the schools. 

The " center system." The branch of the household arts 
that needs special equipment is generally known as " cook- 
ery," though that term by no means denotes all the instruc- 
tion that should be given. The method usually adopted is 
that known as the " center system," i.e., a room is equipped 
in some central location, and different classes from various 
schools in the neighborhood attend in turn. This system 
has grown up in connection with manual training. It has 
nothing to recommend it except perhaps economy. Time 
is lost in going to and from school or home to the center and 
in many cases the subject is looked upon by the girls as out- 
side of, and different from, their regular studies. It is always 
better to have the center, if not attached to, at least in close 
proximity to an institution devoted entirely to education. 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 47 

An inspector of household arts writes : " Probably the only 
case where household arts are struggling against petty, ad- 
verse, and malicious criticism is due very largely to the fact 
that that particular center is far removed from a school and 
is separated from other educational influences and discipline." 
When one and a half hours per week are devoted to the 
lesson a center will thus accommodate fifteen classes per 
week. A much better arrangement, however, is two classes 
a day of two hours each. This plan gives the teacher time 
to properly prepare her material, and to perform certain 
social duties which the efficient teaching of the household 
arts should include. 

Character of equipment. The equipment now in general 
use has received some adverse criticism : " We are too prone 
in the teaching of the domestic arts to run to elaborate equip- 
ment which it is utterly impossible to provide within the 
home of a working man or even in the houses of the middle 
classes." There is no doubt that this criticism contains a 
large measure of truth. The organization and equipment 
of household arts classes should have a very direct bearing 
upon the present and future home conditions of the pupils, 
and it is precisely in this direction that the equipment is de- 
fective. Of course, the conditions under which twenty-four 
girls work will have to be different from those of the home 
kitchen which generally provides space for only two or three, 
but the former should be made to approximate as closely as 
possible to the latter. In some schools in addition to the 
large kitchen to accommodate the whole class, there is pro- 
vided a small room fitted like a home kitchen with range, 
sink, cupboards, and pantry to duplicate the home condi- 
tions existing in the neighborhood. In one case this was 
accomplished by the adaptation of a large cottage in the 



48 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

school grounds, formerly used by the caretaker. The living 
and the dining room were thrown into one, providing a lab- 
oratory kitchen, and the original kitchen of the house left 
as it was. Here three or four girls are deputed to work, 
largely on their own responsibility. They work out, under 
home conditions, lessons that have been previously taught 
in the laboratory kitchen. By a proper system of rotation 
each girl gets about six or seven periods a year in this 
kitchen. 

Absence of a coal or wood stove. One great defect in the 
majority of schools is the absence of a coal stove. A regula- 
tion refusing to recognize any school not so equipped should 
be made by state or provincial departments of education. 
Many of these schools are, of course, in towns where gas can 
be had, and for this reason a gas range only is provided, 
but from questions asked it is found that even in those towns, 
the majority of the girls use coal or wood stoves in their 
home kitchens. In very few cases is it found that the 
majority of the parents use gas stoves. As a recent writer 
has said : " Half the success in cooking by coal or wood lies 
in knowing how to make a fire and keep it right. And yet I 
have seen scores of teachers of cooking who could not make 
a coal or wood fire and keep it right to save their blessed 
souls.*' Many teachers object to the coal stove on account 
of the work it causes. One teacher of household science in a 
room fitted with a coal stove informed the inspector that she 
did not consider it her business, or that of the girls under her 
care, to keep it clean and in good working order but that of 
the caretaker, and the result was that the stove was in a 
very dirty condition. A coal stove requires entirely differ- 
ent treatment and management from a gas range, and for this 
and other reasons a coal stove should be placed in a household 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 49 

science kitchen in addition to the gas range and individual 
gas stoves, before it can be considered properly equipped. 

Changes in equipment. The type of equipment in general 
use has become stereotyped, and while it is not desirable to 
make alterations for the mere sake of change, yet it is time 
to consider whether the type of equipment now in use is best 
calculated to give that all-round training which the require- 
ments of the modern home demand. There is no question 
now that trade training should be given under real conditions, 
and in ordinary household arts instruction the closer the 
conditions are made to approximate those of real life the 
more effective the work will be. Some go so far as to believe 
that the school will never teach cooking efficiently until the 
instruction is given under actual home conditions and in the 
home itself. They maintain that, at best, the school can 
only offer an imitation of home conditions and therefore can 
never be efficient, but, not to go so far as this, it may readily 
be admitted that some improvements in equipment are de- 
sirable in order to approximate more closely the home con- 
ditions. 

A new type of equipment is in use in a few institutions, and 
though this was definitely designed for purely vocational 
schools it offers many suggestions, and probably indicates 
the lines on which the remodeling of the elementary school 
equipment should take place. The new system is that 
known as the ^' unit kitchen." By this method the home 
kitchen is made the unit of equipment, the unit being re- 
peated as often as required to accommodate the number of 
pupils. These kitchens are small rooms like the ordinary 
tenement kitchen and are furnished with sink, stove, table, 
and the necessary utensils. They are built with three walls, 
leaving the front open so that the teacher may supervise the 

E 



50 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

work in several kitchens by passing along the front of each. 
There should also be provided in the open space in front or 
in an adjoining room equipment for use when class instruc- 
tion or demonstrations are being given. ^ 

In a circular issued by the Belgian Minister of the Interior 
and of Public Instruction occurs the following passage relat- 
ing to equipment: "It is therefore advisable to establish the 
housewifery school for adults in premises resembling as much 
as possible in extent, arrangement, and furniture, those in 
which the girl will fulfil later her beneficent mission. To 
initiate her to household work in vast and luxurious surround- 
ings provided with perfect apparatus, is to expose her to bitter 
disappointment, even despondency, on the day when she 
must confine her activities and aspirations in a home as 
meager as that of a laborer or workman generally is. What 
is primarily necessary to a girl of the people is a domestic 
education really in touch with her future condition and not 
a so-called preparation in which the inevitable realities and 
demands of practical life are not sufficiently taken into ac- 
count." ^ 

A recent writer has admirably stated this question as fol- 
lows : "Is there over-refinement in some of the household 
arts training ? Are girls surrounded by such ideal conditions 
in the work in the school that they are unable to carry into 
their own homes the benefit of the instruction and the prac- 
tice ? Are our laboratories arranged with due regard to the 
conditions under which the girl must try the same project at 
home which was so successfully carried out in the class ? Is 



1 "Cooking in the Vocation School." United States Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Bulletin, 1915, No. 1. 

2 "School Training for the Home Duties of Women," Vol. 16. Special 
Reports, London, England. 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 51 

there danger that the ideahzation of the process at the school 
may send the girl home, not only unable but unwilling in her 
heightened dissatisfaction to attempt its repetition ? Wher- 
ever this occurs is not the course of training open to the 
criticism that it has failed to adjust the pupil with the new 
asset, to the environment in which it is to be used? How 
far is this trouble when it exists due to the overemphasis of 
the scientific and artistic aspects of the subject and how far 
to a failure to understand that the real purpose of the work is 
to prepare the girl to make a better home out of the one she 
now has? Will this difiiculty ever be remedied until all 
those who give instruction in them have been so taught in the 
training schools as to realize that the largest purpose of each 
is civic and social betterment? " ^ 

It has been previously mentioned that instruction in 
household arts has been largely, and in some cases entirely, 
restricted to cookery and the equipment has been designed 
to that end. A modified form of equipment is to be experi- 
mented with in one of the Ontario schools. This is designed 
to enable what is called " housewifery " in the English schools, 
to be taught without providing an actual cottage or house. 
A very large room is fitted with six laundry tubs, with three 
wringers, accommodation for twelve girls at cooking, dining- 
room furniture, bedroom furniture in one corner of the room 
separated by a screen, and the necessary cupboards and 
utensils. The laundry tubs are provided with a cover which 
is intended to be used as a table, for cutting out patterns, 
dressmaking, etc. It is hoped that an equipment of this 
character will enable a much more general training to be given 
than can be offered in the usual type of cooking laboratory. 

Neglect of laundry work. A branch of household arts in- 

^ Prosser, C. A., Industrial Arts Magazine, July, 1915. 



52 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

struction almost entirely ignored at present is laundry work. 
In the English schools practically as much attention is given 
to this subject as is paid to cookery, and it is found that the 
subject has vocational, domestic, and educational possibil- 
ities. On this continent the subject has received little at- 
tention, owing to the prevalent impression that an elaborate 
and expensive equipment is required. This may be true in 
trade and technical schools, where it is usual to provide drying 
rooms and power equipment, but it is quite possible, and has 
been found practicable, to do very effective work in the ordi- 
nary school kitchen. In the regulations of the Ontario De- 
partment of Education an equipment is given costing less 
than S65, and indeed in one school excellent work has been 
done with an equipment costing only $22.30 in addition to 
the equipment usually found in every school kitchen. It is 
highly desirable that more attention should be given to this 
subject in both our elementary schools and in our high 
schools. 

Teaching housewifery. The subject of " housewifery " 
is gradually being introduced. The plan of teaching house- 
wifery is best shown by a typical example. The Man- 
chester (England) education committee owned two cottages 
near one of the schools. These houses were furnished and 
equipped suitably for a workingman's home. The teacher 
lives in one of the houses, and classes of twelve girls are 
taught at a time. All the practical details of household 
management are dealt with, including the buying and cook- 
ing of food, breadmaking, washing, mangling and ironing, 
cleaning, dusting, etc. By means of this provision about 
120 girls will have the benefit of practical training. Simple 
lessons in hygiene and in the tending and feeding of young 
children are also given. To meet the requirements of the 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 53 

English education department each girl is required to have 
previously received a course of lessons in cookery and laundry 
work. If the last six months of a girFs school life could be 
spent at such a center, in training for the duties of keeping 
the home, there can be no question that a vast improve- 
ment would be effected in the comfort and economy of home 
life, and such provision would probably have a decided 
tendency to prolong school life. 

Housewifery school in Toronto. A few notable examples 
of the same tendency on this continent may be now men- 
tioned. The city of Toronto has a housewifery center for 
public school girls. It is situated in a poor district and is 
largely attended by the children of Jewish parents. A large 
house, the property of the Board of Education, is used, con- 
sisting of three floors, on the upper one of which the janitor 
lives. The equipment is simple and cheap, though good of its 
kind. The staff consists of three fully qualified teachers — 
one for cookery and general housekeeping, one for sewing, 
and one for personal hygiene, care of children, and home 
nursing. The last-mentioned teacher, in addition to her 
normal qualifications, is also a trained nurse. Each girl at- 
tends the school half a day each week, and while it is recog- 
nized that this time is very short, it is all that the academic 
authorities can be persuaded to give; yet with even this 
limited time the effect of the training is being seen in the 
changed appearance of the girls and the improved conditions 
of the homes from which they come. 

Housewifery in Greenfield, Massachusetts. In Greenfield, 
Massachusetts, a cottage was purchased for grade use and a 
larger house for the use of high school students. In the 
grade cottage instruction is given to girls in the seventh, 
eighth, and ninth grades for one and a half hours each week. 



54 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The classes are divided into two groups ; the regular teacher 
gives instruction in sewing to one group, while the special 
teacher gives instruction in cooking and household manage- 
ment to the other group. 

Housewifery in Park Ridge, New Jersey. The schools of 
Park Ridge, New Jersey, a town of eighteen hundred people, 
have rented a two-story building, erected originally with two 
stores below and two four-room apartments above. One of 
the stores has been fitted for household arts and the other for 
manual training; the apartments are leased to teachers, 
and the whole is kept as a model house, the children doing 
the work, scrubbing the floors, making beds, serving lun- 
cheons, etc.^ 

Housewifery centers in New York. The Association of 
Practical Housekeeping Centers of New York is a philan- 
thropic association working, often in conjunction with the 
public schools, for the maintenance of model apartments 
where children, young women, and mothers may receive 
training in homemaking. The housekeeping center at 226 
Henry Street, for instance, is now a part of the nearest public 
school. The pupils of that school, in groups of fifteen, fill the 
model home from nine in the morning till three o'clock in the 
afternoon, and the Board of Education pays the salary of the 
teacher. Public School No. 7 has, with the aid of the house- 
keeping association, actually built a model of a home in the 
school building. The kitchen, bedroom, living-room, and 
bath-room are fully equipped, and every week over two hun- 
dred girls study the problems of homemaking. Next door to 
Public School No. 4, Manhattan, an ordinary tenement-house 
flat has been equipped and made into a model homemaking 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 36. 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 55 

laboratory for the pupils. This flat was entirely furnished by 
the girls. The housekeeping center at 162 Sullivan Street has 
been for many years the model of that Italian neighborhood, 
and is now connected during school hours with one of the 
public schools four blocks away. Many of the other public 
schools have now such centers in connection with them. 
In every case the teacher is fully qualified and has had a 
thorough training.^ There are numerous examples to be 
found of such houses or apartments for the use of high school 
pupils, and these will be dealt with in a future chapter. 

The teacher. As in any other subject of the school cur- 
riculum the character of the instruction given will largely 
depend upon the standard set for the qualifications of 
teachers. In connection with household arts there are two 
courses open. The subject may be taught by the regular 
grade teacher or it may be regarded as a special subject to be 
taught by a special teacher. The latter plan is the one that 
is most common. The experience of the best educational 
authorities to-day seems to be that all subjects should be 
taught in at least the first six grades by the regular teacher, 
and indeed if the household arts are to be taught at all in a 
large number of our schools, they must be taught so. There 
are many striking examples of successful teaching by the 
grade teacher, particularly in the one-room rural school. 
Public attention at present, however, seems to be concen- 
trated on the special teacher, and the criticisms under this 
head are mainly directed against her. 

Generally speaking, the household arts teacher is too young 
and immature to have had any practical housekeeping ex- 
perience, and this prejudices the mothers of the pupils against 
her, which prejudice, even if not consciously expressed, often 

* Journal of Home Economics, February, 1915. 



56 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

communicates itself to the children themselves. Not only 
is the teacher, as a rule, lacking practical housekeeping ex- 
perience, but she is also unacquainted with the requirements, 
the standards, and the potentialities of the homes from which 
her pupils come. Unless some means can be devised by 
which the teacher can gain this knowledge, much of the work 
will be ineffective, owing to false standards and over-refine- 
ment. The Wisconsin state inspector of domestic science 
says that " it must be admitted that the home conditions 
have not been changed to any great extent by our change 
in the educational ideals." ^ Mrs. Woolman says that " it 
is felt that the homes have not materially increased in effi- 
ciency through the school courses," ^ and also that " in 
spite of the time given to the household arts in many of the 
elementary schools a real knowledge of homemaking is not 
given." In a school of housewifery previously referred to 
the teachers have no opportunity to visit the homes except 
on Sunday afternoons, as the school is in a Jewish district, 
while the teacher of hygiene, home nursing, and the care of 
children is prohibited from visiting at all, as it is feared that 
she would clash with the regular school nurse. 

Owing to this lack of home knowledge, many of the methods 
adopted are at variance with the general practice of the 
homes from which the pupils come. The dietitian of Cook 
County institutions makes the following statement : "I 
had occasion a few days ago to visit a number of household 
economics departments in high schools. In one there was a 
typewritten lesson on table service. In this I found two 
statements. ^ The dinner napkin should be a yard square.' 
' Paper napkins should never be used in the home.' These 

1 Journal of Home Economics, October, 1915. 

» Consumers' League of Connecticut, Pamphlet No. 8. 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 57 

were the standards set before girls in very moderate cir- 
cumstances who should have been taught instead the legit- 
imate use of the paper napkin, and a reasonable size of the 
linen napkin. In another school the sewing was done en- 
tirely by hand. Elaborate garments were made. Long 
seams were stitched by the laborious hand method. The 
teacher told me she did not wish a machine because hand 
work was the best. She had taken her girls to a children's 
store in the city, and there they had impressed upon them 
the fact that handwork brought higher prices and was more 
desirable than machine work. She endeavored to fix this 
as a standard for the home, taking no account of the value 
of time and labor. A false ideal, it seems to me, was put 
before such girls." ^ 

Preliminary training required. Instructors in household 
arts should be trained along three lines : (1) teaching ability, 
(2) knowledge of home conditions, and (3) technique. For 
the purely technical training of the teacher fairly adequate 
provision is made in different parts of the country. Many 
of the institutions devoted to this purpose are, however, 
lacking in one important respect : they do not provide ade- 
quately for what may be called professional training, i.e., the 
methods and practice of teaching. In the Province of On- 
tario, before the special household arts training can be en- 
tered upon, at least a second-class teacher's certificate must 
be obtained, and, in addition to this, a certain number of 
lessons have to be taught to public school pupils during the 
training. The tendency in the United States is to require 
at least two years of special training after graduation from a 
high school. The problems of the classroom are very differ- 
ent from those of the training school, and practice teaching 

^ National Education Association Addresses and Proceedings, 1914. 



58 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

is essential to effective training. The state should not recog- 
nize and approve any institution which does not make ade- 
quate provision for the necessary practice. It is a manifest 
injustice to pupils to place them under the instruction of an 
individual who has not been taught how to teach. 

Training in service. After a teacher has received all the 
training it is possible for any institution to give, she has still 
a great deal to learn, and, in fact, it may be said with truth 
that her training is only just beginning when she commences 
to teach. Much of her work lies in the homes and in the 
community, and much further study will be required. It is 
much to be regretted that a large number of our teachers fail 
to recognize this. Just as a teacher in a trade school becomes 
stagnant unless she keeps up active connection with her trade 
and its practice, so does the teacher of the household arts 
become ineffective in her class work unless she keeps alive 
to the possibilities and development of the community in 
which she lives. 

Too much expected from the schools. In all criticism of our 
schools and their methods, there is a tendency to expect too 
much, and not to recognize the conditions under which the 
work has to be done. This mistake has been made in connec- 
tion with the household arts. The girls are too immature, 
and household arts appeal to them as having a deferred value 
only. So long as girls leave school at fourteen or younger, 
though they may have been taught cooking both practically 
and theoretically, any one that knows anything about children 
will feel sure that most of what they have learned will be 
forgotten before they have an opportunity of putting it into 
practice unless it is reenforced by further instruction. Yet 
the training will not have been wasted. It will have shown 
the girl that her education has some connection with life, 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 59 

and should have developed habits of neatness and exactness, 
and formed a constructive foundation upon which in later 
years it will be possible to build a body of knowledge which 
can be put into immediate use. 

^' Briefly the school can do these things for the home : 
(1) Reenforce the natural interest of the child in the home 
and strengthen that home mindedness of the best type which 
centers the individual in the small kin group as the one endur- 
ing basis for her wider social relations. (2) Impart knowl- 
edge necessary for leading or sharing in the activities of the 
household as regards food, shelter, clothing, management, 
child life, thrift, and other household matters of importance. 
(3) Afford some practice in these activities where such prac- 
tice is necessary for learning, both by laboratory practice 
within the school and cooperation with the home. We 
must use the school route then as regards home betterment 
quite as we do for progress in any other field, because the 
child and the adult, too, are school minded." ^ 

Current criticism of instruction in cookery. The teaching 
of cookery as a branch of the household arts is now so firmly 
established throughout the country that criticism by oppo- 
nents is seldom heard ; indeed it may be almost said that it has 
no opponents except a few rural school trustees who object to 
it mainly on the ground of expense. The severest criticism 
comes from those who are heartily in favor of the subject, but 
who are anxious to see all cause of complaint removed and the 
subject made of real live worth and of direct benefit to the 
homes of the people. Let us now consider, with a view to the 
removal of their causes, some of the criticisms that experience 
has shown to be warranted ^ In many cases the criticisms 

1 " Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 37. 



60 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

themselves will suggest the remedy. It is very much open to 
question whether any material improvement has taken place 
in the methods of household arts teaching during the past ten 
years. Teachers are reproducing, very largely, the methods 
they were taught in the training school. This probably does 
not apply more to household arts instruction than it does to 
the other subjects of the curriculum, but it at least deserves 
serious consideration when it is remembered that this partic- 
ular subject is supposed to be unhampered by tradition and 
age-long custom. 

Some of the defects in methods that have been pointed out 
by various critics are as follows : 

Waste of time. When a girl goes home and tells her mother 
that she has spent the whole of a lesson, lasting one and a 
half or two hours, in learning how to make a cup of tea or a 
slice of toast, either of which operations is performed in the 
home in less than five minutes, the mother is not likely to 
be impressed with the value of the instruction, and is apt to 
come to the conclusion that the time could have been better 
spent at the regular school studies. These cases are not 
fanciful, but actually occurred in a city of over four hundred 
thousand population. The parent does not stop to consider 
that much information has been given regarding the growth 
and production of the leaf, and other incidental topics, but 
bases her opinion on the visible results achieved. No one can 
seriously contend that lessons of this character are necessary. 
In the same locality a lesson was given, which included the 
making of a cup of tea, a sandwich, and apple sauce ; not, 
however, as the teacher said, with the object of saving time, 
but owing to her idea that it was not good to drink tea with- 
out eating something at the same time. 

Mrs. Woolman says : '' A student is allowed to take many 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 61 

weeks in making an article which should be made in a few 
hours, or spends the part of the cooking period when the 
prepared food has gone to the oven in hit-or-miss clearing up, 
or in discussions of little value to everyday living. The 
systematic utilization of time should be one of the marks 
of a capable home manager." ^ Is there not too much time 
spent in washing dishes ? It has been found that the aver- 
age time spent in this operation in a class of one and a half 
hours in length is at least fifteen minutes. Assuming that 
forty lessons are given during the year, this means ten hours 
dishwashing out of sixty, or one sixth of the total time avail- 
able. It should be possible for a girl of average intelligence 
to learn all there is to learn about dishwashing in say two and 
a half hours. Add to this another two and a half hours to 
acquire dexterity. Is not the other five hours largely wasted 
from an educational point of view ? It must be admitted that 
at present no solution of this problem appears to be in sight. 
It has been presented to scores of household arts teachers and 
they see no way out. 

Much valuable time is also wasted in extensive dictation 
or copying of notes. Hours are often spent in this way. 
The sole use of notes should be to recall a lesson previously 
given, and this is best done by the use of proper headings, 
catch phrases, and careful arrangement. A much better 
plan than note taking is to have the notes and necessary 
recipes printed on cards punched for binding. At the con- 
clusion of the lesson the cards are distributed and taken home 
by the pupil. The work can be practiced during the week 
and the next lesson commenced with a rapid but thorough 
review. At the end of the year's work the cards are tied 
together, and the girl has a valuable collection of notes and 

* Consumers' League of Connecticut, Pamphlet No. 8. 



62 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

recipes which may become of p^ermanent value. In some 
schools the notes are typewritten by the commercial classes. 
Considering the limited amount of time available, every 
effort should be made by both teachers and pupils to make 
the utmost use of it. 

Cooking in microscopic quantities. This is the ordinary 
practice in household arts instruction in the elementary 
school. It results largely from a desire to keep down the 
running expenses to the lowest possible amount, but in the 
desire to secure economy this practice has been carried to 
the extreme, and efficiency has been sacrificed. It is not 
surprising to find that girls will not go into raptures over 
practice stitches or cooking half a potato. In one class 
two girls were actually seen working on one tomato. This 
is surely economy gone mad. Besides using small quan- 
tities, the girls often work in groups of two or some- 
times four, thus further reducing the cost. This reduc- 
tion of cost has been brought to a fine art. Of 182 schools 
reported to the Bureau of Education the cost varied from one 
half a cent to fifteen cents. The median cost was two and 
a half cents, and fifty per cent of the schools paid from two to 
three cents per pupil per lesson for materials.^ In addition 
to the economic motive the difficulty of disposing of larger 
quantities of the cooked product has also contributed to the 
adoption of the " divided recipe." 

The Household Arts teachers of the country should now 
devote some time and thought to this problem — how to cook 
in family quantities, and economically and profitably dispose 
of the product. It can be done. In the English schools the 
girls take delight in disposing of their cooked material to the 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 37, 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 63 

teachers of the school, or In the households of the neighbor- 
hood. I have a vivid recollection of many times taking 
home a dainty lunch prepared by the girls in the cookery 
center attached to the school in which I was then teaching. 
In some schools, regular lunches are prepared and served by 
the girls, for the teachers. Others take orders brought from 
home by the girls or secured by them in the neighborhood. 

The disposal of the product affords a means of giving com- 
mercial training to the girls, which they otherwise would not 
get, and cooking in larger quantities may be made to carry 
itself, and really be less expensive than the small quantities 
now in general use. As long as the principle of each girl 
cooking only what she can eat on the spot is adhered to, so 
long will the instruction appear artificial, and lack that ele- 
ment of vital connection with real life that the introduction 
of the manual arts was supposed to inject into a dull and 
lifeless curriculum. 

Principles instead of practice. In much of the household 
arts teaching of to-day it is usual to introduce the subject 
with the more abstract underlying principles and to empha- 
size these at the expense of their more practical applications. 
The method adopted is very largely that which has been dis- 
continued in'the teaching of science, where the experiment is 
now conducted first and the principles deduced from the 
results of the experiment. For the children in the elemen- 
tary schools and the lower forms of the high schools, all such 
questions as the chemical content of the various foods, the 
bodily changes in the digestive processes, the required num- 
ber of calories for people at work and at rest, the relation 
of geometry to drafting, and many other kindred topics are 
out of place, as they cannot be utilized in the everyday 
experience of the child. Courses in cookery are generally 



64 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

arranged according to the scientific principles involved or ac- 
cording to the method of cooking required, and both methods, 
while resulting in a course of study that is scientific and logi- 
cal, also result in a series of lessons that have little or no con- 
nection with the practical life of the child. 

Independence, initiative, and self-reliance are not being de- 
veloped. An observer of the household arts instruction that 
is being given throughout the country, cannot help being sur- 
prised at the uniformly good results that are obtained. It 
is seldom indeed that anything is spoiled. This, unfortu- 
nately, is not as a rule the result of good teaching or of skill, 
but rather the result of too much help being given by the 
teacher. The average teacher of household arts would 
think it almost a crime for a cake to be spoiled, or a pudding 
to be burned, and so to prevent this catastrophe she helps 
the girls at every touch and turn. Now while this is good 
for the product, it is bad for the producer. The girls who are 
receiving instruction must be left more alone to work out 
their own salvation. 

The family meal, the basis of instruction. A prolonged 
experience has led to the conclusion that if the instruction 
is to be used in the homes, there is no better method of ap- 
proach than the family meal, and this should be kept as the 
basis of instruction, and the work made intensely practical. 
" Reference has already been made to the over-technical and 
insufficient practice of much of the education offered. In 
part this is due to the ease with which the so-called technical 
subjects — pure or applied science, applied art, etc. — can be 
taught in accordance with the traditions of academic educa- 
tion. The most difficult teaching is that which, proceeding 
through practice on projects based upon the practical require- 
ments of life, leads into a mastery of the related and technical 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 65 

knowledge. There is abundant evidence to show that for 
most students, such a method of approach, properly made, is 
the most effective that can be devised." ^ 

Using the family meal as the basis of instruction does not 
mean that the theory of the subject should be neglected. 
Theory and practice must go together; practice without 
theory becomes mechanical and "rule of thumb," while 
theory without practice is profitless for all practical pur- 
poses. It means a study of neighborhood needs by the 
teacher. The syllabuses drawn up for the teaching of 
household arts in various parts of the country are monot- 
onously the same — the same succession of lessons is found 
repeatedly. It matters not whether the pupils are well-to- 
do, live in the country or in the city, in a well-appointed home, 
in a cheap city apartment, or in the squalor of a city slum. 
All must have the same lessons because they are prescribed 
in the course of study. 

A study of neighborhood needs will lead to the differentia- 
tion of courses, not only between town and country but even 
between different sections in the same city. In most cities 
there is, of course, a difference in the standards of living in the 
different localities, and what is possible in the homes of one 
district is not possible in the homes of another. If the 
household arts instruction is to reach the home, this differ- 
ence must be recognized in the work that is given. 

Referring to the necessity for this method of instruction 
a writer in the Journal of Home Economics, the ofl&cial organ 
of the household arts movement, says, '' A girl may learn at 
school to make all the dishes found in the average cook 
book of 500 pages, which could really be condensed into a 
book of 50 pages, and yet not be able to get even the simplest 

^ Journal of Home Economics, December, 1914. 



66 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

breakfast on the table in a proper condition for service in a 
reasonable period of time." ^ 

Suppose the object in view is the preparation of breakfasts. 
A series of very short unit courses is given on the preparation 
of the different foods that compose the ordinary breakfast, 
such as cereals, toast, beverages, eggs, bacon. At the con- 
clusion of this series each girl is given a different menu, and 
prepares a complete breakfast. If this entails overnight prep- 
aration, the girl goes into the kitchen after school at four 
o'clock the night before. In one case the table was set the 
night before, and twenty girls served twenty different break- 
fasts and cleared away during the hour and a half allotted 
for the lesson. Of course the adoption of a method of this 
character presents difficulties, and would involve almost a 
revolution in much of the traditienal practice of our house- 
hold arts classes, but the difficulties in the way are no greater 
than those that confronted the pioneers in the introduction of 
the subject into the schools. Probably the main difficulty is 
the disposal of the product, but even this can be overcome. 
In many schools there are scores of children who would bene- 
fit by a substantial breakfast or lunch. Light lunches can be 
prepared for the teachers, and others, and sold at cost, and 
many other methods would suggest themselves once the 
scheme were adopted. 

Another method of giving practice in working in family 
quantities was adopted in some of the Boston schools during 
the year 1914. Special attention was paid to luncheon work 
in the eighth grade. Each week, one eighth grade class at- 
tends the household arts department for four consecutive 
hours, and prepares, serves, and clears a meal. The classes 
are divided into sections of ten, so that the girls may have 

1 Journal of Home Economics, October, 1915. 



INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 67 

the opportunity to work with larger quantities and receive 
more attention during the work. Menus are studied during 
the year, with special reference to cost and food value, and 
these luncheons give the girls the opportunity to put this 
knowledge to practical use. A few days before the luncheon 
a meeting is held, at the noon period, at which the girls 
discuss their choice of menu, being expected to keep within 
the limit of one and a half dollars for eight people. Two 
girls are appointed to do the buying, and are held responsible 
for supplies. Six girls sit at the table for luncheon. One 
acts as waitress and one as assistant waitress. The principal 
of the school usually attends as a guest. Menus and place 
cards are made by the girls.^ This subject will be further 
dealt with in connection with the high schools. 

Enough has now been said to show that the household arts 
instruction in our elementary schools is in need of improve- 
ment and that the time has come to subject the methods 
and organization adopted to close scrutiny with the view 
of making them meet present-day demands. 

Summary of improvements needed. The lines on which 
these improvements should take place may be summarized 
as follows : 

(1) Sewing and plain needlework should be placed in every 
school for girls from the earliest grades. This instruction 
should be given a decidedly practical turn, meet the needs of 
the district, and include mending and repairing as well as 
making. 

(2) Sewing, cookery, and general household management 
should form part of the curriculum in the training school for 
teachers so that all grade teachers may be able to teach these 
subjects to at least the girls of the first six grades. The sub- 

^ Report of the Superintendent of Schools, Boston, 1914. 



68 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

jects should be regarded as an integral part of the regular 
training course, and not as something special and foreign to 
it. In this training, special attention should be given to 
those forms of the work which can be taught without 
elaborate equipment. 

(3) The special teacher of the household arts should be 
required to have some household experience as a background, 
just as teachers of trade subjects are required to have had 
experience of the trade they teach. While in service, they 
should be given time and opportunity to make themselves 
acquainted with the needs of the district in which they work, 
in order that they may adapt their teaching to meet those 
needs. 

(4) The experimental and scientific method of teaching 
the subject should be subordinated to the practical, and the 
family meal taken as the basis of the instruction. 

(5) A new type of equipment is required in order that gen- 
eral household management may be taught in addition to 
cookery. 

(6) The methods of teaching should be changed with a view 
of eliminating waste of time, cooking in microscopic quanti- 
ties, and every means should be taken to develop initiative, 
independence, and self-reliance and the ability to take tem- 
porary charge of the home should the necessity arise. 



CHAPTER III 

HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 

I. Obstacles to household arts in high schools. 

II. Center system not common. 

III. Unsuitable equipment. 

IV. Model apartments for teaching household arts. 
V. Cooking in family quantities. 

VI. Household arts instruction without special equipment. 

VII. Spending of money one of woman's chief functions. 

VIII. Two kinds of household arts instruction needed. 

IX. Modern methods. 

Obstacles to household arts in high schools. The problem 
of effective household arts instruction is still more complicated 
in the high schools than it is in the elementary schools. This 
may be attributable to the following reasons : 

Girls entering high schools without knowledge of household 
arts. Owing to the comparatively limited adoption of these 
subjects, many girls enter the high schools without any 
previous training in the household arts. In the ordinary 
subjects of the curriculum these girls rank with the others, 
but when it comes to the household arts, a different classifi- 
cation has to be made. In the case of large high schools it 
is often possible to place the girls who have had no previous 
training in a class by themselves, but in the small high school 
this is not possible, and girls are found who have had one, 
two, or three years' previous training, working with those 
who have had none. In such instances the problem must 

be solved by the household arts teacher herself. In many 

69 



70 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

cases she will have to make two divisions of her class. In 
others it may be possible to avoid this. A rapid review 
of the instruction given in the elementary school will not 
as a rule do any harm to the high school student who has 
previously taken the work, and the girl who has not, par- 
ticularly if she has had home experience, will get so in touch 
with the work from this review that she may be able to 
gather up the threads and keep pace with the others. 

The high school a college preparatory school. The American 
high school has long been regarded as a college preparatory 
school. The influence of the college upon it has in the 
past almost entirely determined its courses of study, and all 
students, entirely regardless of whether they were to enter 
college or not, were forced to take a course the methods 
and purposes of which were to facilitate entrance into an 
institution whose doors they never intended to darken ! 
The student who wishes to enter college has still to be 
reckoned with. In connection with household arts in- 
struction there are, for these girls, two possible courses. 
All training may be postponed until the girl enters college, 
or one or two years of household arts instruction may be 
given as part of the college preparatory course. The extent 
to which the latter can be done depends, of course, upon the 
recognition given by the college to the work done in house- 
hold arts in the high school, and fortunately there is a de- 
cided tendency on the part of the colleges to allow a fair 
amount of credit. 

" In 1912 of 203 colleges giving the A.B. degree, not one of 
them prescribed that household science must be offered for 
admission ; but seventy-nine of these colleges will accept house- 
hold science if offered, and ten others will consider its accep- 
tance. In other words, eighty-nine out of 203 colleges recog- 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 71 

nize this subject, as now taught in high schools, as of suffi- 
cient educational worth to give it recognition alongside the 
older academic studies as authorizing entrance upon a col- 
lege course of standing, leading to the A.B. degree. Of the 
114 colleges not recognizing household science for entrance, 
forty-five accept only men students, so that only sixty-nine 
of 158 academic institutions maintain a negative attitude, 
i.e., fifty-six per cent recognize household science for admis- 
sion. . . . The amount of weight given to household science 
in the usual requirement of high school studies is also sig- 
nificant. Of the seventy-nine A.B. colleges accepting house- 
hold economics for admission, thirty-one recognize not more 
than one unit, eighteen accept one and a half or two units, 
nine accept three, and twenty-one accept three and a half 
or four units or more. Only sixty-five of the 203 A.B. 
colleges do not recognize one or more vocational subjects 
for entrance and certain of the sixty-five will consider such 
subjects." ^ 

Even if a girl enters the high school with the express 
purpose of going to college, many circumstances may arise 
to prevent the accomplishment of that purpose, and if the 
plan be adopted of postponing all instruction till the college 
is reached, that girl will have been deprived of essential 
instruction in the household arts. The better plan, then, 
seems to be that at least one, and if possible two, years of 
such instruction be included in the four-year college pre- 
paratory course. 

The high school a finishing school. The high school is 
also a finishing school, and the tendency for it to become 
so is more and more apparent. It is fast becoming recog- 

1 "College Entrance Requirements." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1913, No. 7. 



72 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

nized that the high school must fit for all lines of activity 
— household, industrial, commercial, and agricultural, — and 
that in addition to preparing the one tenth for college, it 
must also give definite vocational training to the nine tenths 
that never go educationally beyond its walls. " We have 
been running our schools for a long time with a very in- 
complete shipping department. Our aim has been to ship 
all of our product to the college. We have sifted out about 
ninety per cent as culls, thrown them upon the waste heap, 
and packed the chosen ten per cent in de luxe wrappers of 
sheep skin and labeled them ' for college entrance.' The 
ninety per cent now demands attention. The waste product 
must be turned into profit." ^ If this ninety per cent is to 
receive adequate attention, other means must be taken than 
the usual four-year course now provided, as a large number 
of the girls leave before the completion of that course. " In 
our city high schools, for one hundred girls entering there 
are only seventy-five boys. During the high school course 
the boys are eliminated more rapidly, so that in the last year 
there are sixty per cent more girls than boys. Of one 
hundred girls in the first-year class thirty have left before 
the second year, twentj^-five more before the third, and 
fourteen more before the fourth. Roughly a third of each 
class leave before reaching the next higher class.'' ^ 
These facts and tendencies which are general throughout 
the country have led to the establishment of two-year 
courses in which the aim is distinctly vocational. 

Not cultural or necessary. There are, of course, still some 
who object to the introduction of the household arts into 

* Davis, Jesse Buttrick, A.B., Vocational and Moral Guidance. 
>"The Elimination of Pupils from School." United States Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin, 1907, No. 4. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 73 

the high school. It is contended by some that the subject 
is not cultural and therefore should have no place in the 
curriculum of the high school. " We have too long divided 
labor into mental and manual, assuming that although both 
were necessary to society they were not both necessary to 
the same individual." ^ This view is rapidly disappearing, 
as is shown by the number of colleges that are prepared to 
give entrance credit. Others contend that the high school 
curriculum is already overcrowded and that it is not necessary 
to introduce this new subject, as the girls who enter the 
high school are from fairly well-to-do homes, the mothers 
of which are able to teach the subject to their own girls. 
But the day when girls were apprenticed to their mothers 
is past, and according to all appearances will never return. 
Even if the mothers were willing, they are generally not 
able to give such instruction. There has arisen a body of 
new knowledge; the demands of the twentieth century 
have entirely changed the character of the housekeeping, 
and the woman now needs a new kind of knowledge. Her 
function has become the selection of goods and the spending 
of money, and wise selection and economical expenditure 
depend upon many principles which have not hitherto 
been taught in our schools. " We no longer share the con- 
ception of a woman's whole duty held by our grandmothers. 
We do not applaud the mother or daughter who spends 
long hours in the kitchen, or who revels in turning the whole 
house upside down and inside out in that most bewildering 
and least methodical of all human inconveniences — the 
spring cleaning." 

There is also needed adequate knowledge concerning the 

1 " Vocational Guidance." United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 
1914, No. 14. 



74 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

rearing of children, and this is not usually given to the girl 
by her mother. Of the two million children born annually, 
one in six dies before the end of the j&rst year ; one in three 
by the end of the fifth year — due solely to ignorance on the 
part of those responsible for the feeding of the child. ^ The 
only way this infant mortality can be lessened is by adequate 
knowledge which must be given to the girl before she leaves 
the high school. This knowledge is vital if our human re- 
sources are to be conserved. 

The principal of a Massachusetts high school, who was 
considering the introduction of a course in household arts, 
recently put a series of questions to the girls attending his 
school. The experiment is thus described : '' Twenty-six 
girls, members of the same class, were given a list of thirty 
questions. These questions bore reference to the girls' 
knowledge of household duties and the answers proved de- 
cidedly entertaining. Twelve of the twenty-six said they 
could make bread, eighteen could make cake, and all could 
make candy. Twenty-two girls had built a kitchen fire, 
twenty could cook beefsteak, and twenty asserted that 
they had cooked a full meal. It is disappointing to learn 
that not one girl of the entire twenty-six knew why new 
bread is not a healthful article of food, nor could twenty- 
four of them tell what the trap to a sink is. The making of 
starch was understood by twenty of the class, and sixteen 
said they could iron their collars and cuffs. Twenty girls 
could mend their clothes — at least that is what they claimed, 
— and seventeen had made shirt waists. When it came to 
trimming hats, there were thirteen girls who knew how, 
and thirteen who didn't know and hadn't tried to learn. 

i"The Education of the Girl." Wisconsin State Board of Industrial 
Education, Bulletin, 1912, No. 4. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 75 

" The principal who framed this Hst of questions considers 
the answers a fair exposition of the domestic knowledge of 
the average high school girl. He asked the questions with 
a definite object in view. He wanted to be certain that 
domestic science was an advisable addition to the school 
studies. After the answers to his thirty questions were 
thoroughly considered he admitted that there would be no 
delay in establishing the new course. Perhaps it was diplo- 
matic on the part of the principal to avoid all mention of 
the true cause of the ignorance of the class as a whole — 
lack of home training and home encouragement." 

It will thus be seen that household arts instruction in the 
high school cannot be considered as unnecessary. That 
the average high school curriculum is overcrowded is true, 
but relief should not be sought by the omission of a subject 
so vital as the household arts, but rather in pruning down 
to essentials other subjects in the curriculum. 

The center system not common. The center system so 
largely adopted in connection with elementary schools is 
not generally adopted by high schools. Each school has its 
own equipment, and none but the students of the school are 
usually admitted. In the smaller towns in the various prov- 
inces of Canada the high school centers are also used for the 
children of the public schools, as by this means the whole 
time of a special teacher is employed and the room is used 
as much as any other classroom. While the equipment is 
the same for public and high schools, the course of study is, 
of course, different. 

Unsuitable equipment. The criticism applied to the 
equipment in the elementary school is also applicable to 
that in the high school, but perhaps to a less extent. The 
Canadian Royal Commission on Industrial and Technical Edu- 



76 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

cation, in describing its visit to the High School of Practical 
Arts, Boston, says : " The Commission found that the old 
form of gas-stove burner placed around the room is discarded 
in this school, as the equipment is planned to be as nearly 
like the home equipment as possible. As a big stove could 
not be obtained, four ordinary ones were placed together 
in the middle of the room, so that^the girls step from the 
table to the stove and over to the sink, thus conserving 
energy by saving steps. The theory of the principal is, 
that teaching a girl to make a loaf of bread and calling it a 
lesson does not work. She has to make it till she can do it 
like playing the piano while talking over her shoulder ; you 
can't teach it like a lesson and go on to the next. About 
$350 a month is spent for provisions in the three kitchens 
of this school but this is not charged to the city, as the 
articles cooked are sold in the lunch room. The school 
does not cater for the lunch — it is an educational by- 
product and is sent down to the lunch counter and is sold 
for enough to cover the cost of material and waste.'* ^ 

Model apartments for teaching household arts. There 
are two marked tendencies in household arts equipment 
for high schools. The first is to provide a complete suite 
of rooms so that the instruction may be comprehensive, 
and include all the usual household activities, and the 
second is to include the school lunch room in the accommo- 
dations provided. The household arts are being leavened 
with the demand for real vocational instruction, and as 
this demand becomes more insistent, and as the girls are 
occupied with real projects, the school lunch room will be- 
come more and more a necessary adjunct to the effective 

^ Report of Royal Commission on Industrial and Technical Education, 
Ottawa, 1913. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 77 

teaching of the household arts. Whether viewed educa- 
tionally or practically, the household arts will never be 
effectively ,r taught until a real practical field is provided 
and the present largely artificial conditions removed. 

There is, however, a danger that these model apartments 
may become just as artificial as the school kitchens which 
they supplant. Another step must be taken before the 
conditions become actual. The girls must really live in 
these apartments and perform the duties of the household, 
as they occur from day to day. The ordinary model flat 
has a tendency to become cold and cheerless, as it is seldom 
lived in. One or two model apartments that are used in 
different communities will now be described. 

Washington Irving High School, New York} This apart- 
ment is of a somewhat different type from that ordinarily 
used and offers useful suggestions. The quarters were 
provided by dividing a large room about 50 feet by 20 
feiet into the following rooms: bathroom, kitchen, pantry, 
dining-room, living room, bedroom, and nursery. The 
walls are made of composition board easily removed, so that 
the wall covering may be changed. There are two or more 
sets of furnishings for each room to suit the different color 
schemes. This method allows more attention to be given 
to furnishing and decoration than is possible in the usual 
type of apartment. All are open at the front facing a 
recitation room. The different rooms will now be described 
in detail. 

The living room is nine feet wide, and is provided with 
three sets of furniture — oak, mahogany, and green wicker. 
There are three plain rugs, two of mixed colors, four changes 
of wall coverings, and six sets of hangings. With these 

* Industrial Arts Magazine, May, 1914. 



78 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

furnishings six different combinations of contrasted har- 
monies and fom* of analogous harmonies are made. The 
possibilities of a method of this kind in teaching household 
furnishing and decoration, it will be seen, are almost end- 
less, and points of contact and correlation with other school 
subjects which could not be otherwise secured are offered 
by it. Where the school is a mixed school, the manual 
training department can be made of great service in fur- 
nishing, equipping, and decorating rooms of this character. 

The dining-room is about the same size as the living room 
and is separated from it by a collapsible door, allowing the 
two rooms to be thrown into one when the necessity arises. 
Because of this close connection the color schemes of the 
two rooms are harmonized. Sets of mahogany and oak 
furniture including serving table and china closet are pro- 
vided. False windows are provided in most of the rooms 
in order to show their proper treatment with curtains. 

The nursery, seven and a half feet wide, is pjrovided with 
a child's set of furniture consisting of crib, bureau, table, 
chair, and washstand. The rug is washable. There are 
also a child's bathtub and four properly dressed dolls rep- 
resenting children of different ages, from less than a year 
to four years old. These are used in the lessons on the 
care and feeding of children. This room is decorated with 
a frieze about two feet in width, depicting scenes of child 
life and placed low enough to be readily seen by children. 

The bedroom, about seven feet wide, is provided with 
two sets of furniture. One consists of a natural ash bureau, 
chair, brass bedstead, and wicker shirt-waist box. The other 
is of white enamel. This is not a sunny room, and color 
schemes are used which increase the illumination under 
artificial light. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 79 

The pantry is four and a half feet wide and is provided 
with the usual closets and shelves and a full complement 
of dishes. Swing doors are provided communicating with 
both kitchen and dining-room. 

The kitchen, eight feet wide, is provided with a combined 
kitchen cabinet and folding table near the sink and a small 
table near the pantry. A gas range and a fireless cooker 
are provided, and the floor is covered with linoleum, which 
is durable and easily cleaned. 

The bathroom is four feet four inches wide and is fur- 
nished with the usual bathroom fittings. The rugs, walls, 
and floor are washable. 

A few words as to the curriculum of this school appro- 
priately come in here. The girls are first taught the proper 
proportion of the income that should be allowed for the 
various fixed expenses. Attention is paid to buying. The 
girls are taught that they should know what they really 
need, standard qualities and prices, and where the goods 
may be obtained. Sanitation in regard to waste pipes, 
soil pipes, and house drainage is taken up, and the construc- 
tion and use of a trap are explained. Much attention is 
paid to the feeding and care of children, the special purpose 
of the coiu'se here being the training of the girl for efficient 
motherhood. The following subjects in home nursing are 
briefly considered : symptoms of contagious diseases, symp- 
toms of child's diseases not contagious, care of the sick room 
and the patient, changing the bedding and clothing, and 
first aid to the injured. The girls prepare complete meals, 
and serve them in the correct manner. Much attention is 
paid to furnishing and house decoration. A term's work in 
household arts consists of five months, and of this two 
months are devoted to work in the model apartment. There 



80 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

are five forty-five minute periods each week. The average 
number in a class is thirty-two, which of course is far too 
many. It will be seen from the above brief outline that 
the work in household arts at this school consists of 
much more than the traditional cookery lessons, and the 
tendency thus shown is becoming general throughout the 
country. 

Winthrop Normal and Industrial College, Rock Hill, South 
Carolina. This institution has a practice house on the college 
campus. Though this college is of somewhat higher grade than 
the ordinary high school, the furnishing of its cottage and its 
organization offer suggestions, particularly in the du-ection 
of occupancy by the girls, thus making a real home out of 
what tends to be a place of demonstration only. The fur- 
nishings are simple and inexpensive, consisting of mission 
furniture, simple rugs, and white iron bedsteads similar to 
those used in the dormitories. Each senior student has 
two periods of eight days each in the practice house, and 
during this time she actually lives in the house with an 
instructor, going over to the college for the regular classes 
just as she would from her own home. Each group con- 
sists of eight girls and is divided into cooks and house- 
keepers. The chief cook has charge of the dining-room, 
kitchen, pantry, etc., with assistants under her. The chief 
housekeeper and her assistants have charge of the remainder 
of the house. Each girl knows her own work, and there is a 
system of alternation, so that at the conclusion of the eight- 
day period each girl has completed the whole work of the 
house, including even the care of plants and chickens. 
The girls plan the menus and entertain visitors to dinner 
on Sunday, and the chief cook and housekeeper are hostesses 
and preside. The cook's two assistants serve the meal, 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 81 

simply rising from the table to do so, thus showing how a 
meal can be properly served where there is no maid.^ 

These two types of apartments and others to be described 
later show that the plan is quite feasible when properly 
organized, and that there are certain branches of house- 
hold arts which cannot be effectively taught by any other 
means. 

Cooking in family quantities. Much that has been said 
in the chapter on elementary schools with reference to the 
preparation of the complete meal and cooking in family 
quantities applies here also, but the greater maturity of the 
girls, their nearness to the actual assumption of household 
responsibilities, and the longer time given to the work 
make it possible to devote much more attention to this 
feature of the work. There are two main obstacles to the 
adoption of this plan, first the disinclination of the teacher 
trained to give instruction along traditional lines, and, 
secondly, the difficulty of disposing of the products when 
large quantities are used. When the household arts 
teachers are prepared to devote as much thought to these 
questions as they have devoted to some others, other and 
perhaps more satisfactory ways of solving these problems 
will be discovered than those that have already been found. 
Even with the almost microscopic quantities now used 
there is often outcry amongst school trustees at the cost, 
and the problem resolves itself into one of securing quantity 
results at the small-portion cost. 

Methods in Montclair, New Jersey. Some cities have ap- 
parently solved the problem by making an alliance with the 
home. In Montclair, New Jersey, "on the day when bread- 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 36. 

. G 



82 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

making is scheduled the members of the class are permitted 
to take orders from the home for a certain number of loaves, 
at a price which covers the cost of the material. The girls 
are now cooking in sufficient quantities to duplicate home 
conditions, and consequently the training is worth while. 
At the same time the work is done at no cost to the depart- 
ment, and best of all there is no waste of good material. 
Incidentally the school receives two by-products which are 
of no inconsiderable value. In the first place, the home 
is very much interested in the girl's work and the plan 
tends to establish a very cordial relationship between the 
school and the home. In the second place, the department 
is stimulated to do its best. It would never do for a pupil 
in the domestic science class to report that the cook's bread 
is very much superior to her own." ^ 

In the schools of this city lunches are served to the teachers, 
and complete meals are served in the school dining-room. 
At one meal the meat course was roast chicken, and this 
was bought with the money obtained from a sale of tomato 
pickles made from tomatoes grown in the school garden. 
This question of alliance with the home will be dealt with 
later, but it may be said here that if fully developed and 
worked along right lines, the problem of working in family 
quantities would be solved, and the subject would lose none 
of its educational value, while at the same time it would 
gain elements of practicality that it now lacks. 

Methods in Sioux City, Iowa. Another method that has 
been adopted with considerable success in many places is 
the use of the school lunch room as a market for the products 
of the school kitchen. There are many difficulties in the 
way of this, but in spite of them all " the school lunch can 

1 Indttstrial Arts Magazine, January, 1915. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 83 

be made a desirable method of disposing of the products, 
if the food and not the girl is adjusted to the market/* ^ 

This method is well illustrated by the practice at Sioux 
City, lowa.^ The head of the household arts department 
is also placed in charge of the school lunch room and thus a 
large portion of the salary of a second executive head is 
saved. The greatest advantages of the plan are the saving 
of the cost of the raw material, and the practice given. In 
order that the girls may not be exploited two conditions 
should be laid down ; j&rst, that the girls should not be asked 
to prepare more of the product than is sufficient for families 
of four or five people, and second, that one girl should not 
be asked to do more of the dishwashing and other so-called 
" drudgery " than that which pertains to the kitchen of the 
house occupied by a family of small size. Each girl, then, 
prepares enough of the article for four people, thus getting 
practice in cooking and clearing up for a small family group. 
These family quantities are then combined and carried to 
the lunch room. The needed practice in table setting and 
serving is obtained by requiring the girls to prepare and serve 
a complete breakfast, luncheon, and dinner to the faculty, 
as well as to assist with several monthly dinners given by 
the department for the principals' club. The educational 
value of the subject is not sacrificed, and there is no repeti- 
tion in the articles prepared. Nothing is sacrificed for the 
sake of the market, and an even wider choice is allowed than 
is otherwise possible. The whole business side is managed 
by the commercial department of the schools and the entire 
plan is in successful operation in every school of the city. 

1 " Cooking in the Vocation School." United States Bureau of Education, 
BuUetin, 1915, No. 1. 

> Industrial Arts Magazine, October, 1915. 



84 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The Lucy Flower Technical High School, Chicago. This 
school has a cafeteria in connection with it which is operated 
by a group of girls who buy all the materials required, plan 
the preparation and serving of the food, and keep all the 
necessary business records. At the end of the term the 
operators are expected to show a slight profit, which is ex- 
pended in some labor-saving device for the kitchen. The 
girl in charge for a certain week purchases the material 
in whatever part of the town she wishes. A second lunch 
room is maintained for the girls of the seventh and eighth 
grades, and this is also managed by one of the girls in train- 
ing. The business-like way in which these girls go about 
their work and the thorough understanding they have of 
all that they are doing are worthy of the highest praise. 

In the cafeterias of the Tacoma (Washington) high school 
every third-term girl has three weeks' practice in large- 
quantity cooking, in addition to three weeks' experience 
in preparing noon lunches for the teachers. 

Household arts instruction without special equipment. 
Teachers and many educational authorities hold the opinion 
that no effective instruction can be given in the household 
arts without an elaborate equipment, but high schools that 
have no separate household arts department may provide 
instruction closely related to the homes through the medium 
of other subjects already in the curriculum, such as chemistry, 
art, economics, biology, and physics. There are many 
features of the work not now touched upon which could be 
given adequate treatment by this method. 

" The chemistry course offered in the Los Angeles high 
school i's part of the home economics curriculum. This one- 
year course is designed especially for girls, and its purpose 
is to train them to be intelligent and efficient homemakers. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 85 

To this end an attempt is made to develop a scientific attitude 
which will enable them to judge intelligently of household 
articles and supplies, independently of the claims of the 
manufacturers. It includes a semester's work in the third 
year as follows : a brief study of the principles of inorganic 
chemistry with special reference to physical and chemical 
changes, the atmosphere, water, fuels, and illuminants. 
Emphasis is placed on those parts of the subject having 
direct application in the home. A second semester's work 
is given in the senior year as follows: simple chemistry, 
food constituents, food values, and relative costs; food 
adulterants, common poisons and their antidotes; soaps 
and cleaning compounds; examination and care of tex- 
tiles; dyes and mordants." ^ 

Spending of money one of woman's chief functions. One 
of the chief functions of woman to-day is the spending of 
money and the selection of goods, and in very few of the 
household arts classes throughout the country are these 
changed functions of the woman recognized, and adequate 
attention given to those economic matters which vitally 
concern the household and the conservation of the income. 
For these reasons it would be advisable to introduce into 
high school household arts classes an elementary course in 
what perhaps might be described as applied economics con- 
cerned with the earning, spending, and saving of money. 

Professor L. D. Harvey, President of Stout Institute, 
Menominie, Wisconsin, in describing such a course, says: 
" The value of a broad training that will fit women to dis- 
charge the business of their household, that will assure 
them adequate results for money expended, and give them 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 37. 



86 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

better appreciation of values cannot be too strongly urged. 
The proper apportioning of the income among the different 
lines of household expenditure, the systematic keeping of 
household accounts, the selection of material for the house- 
hold, the organization and division of labor are all topics 
that should be considered in their economic relation to the 
management of the household." ^ 

In the course above referred to the spending of money is 
discussed under the following headings : 

I. Rights of the purchaser. 

(a) To buy articles that are as represented. 

(b) To buy articles uncontaminated by filth or disease 

germs. 

(c) To buy articles that are not produced under un- 

happy conditions capable of amelioration. 
II. Rights of the producer. 

(a) To produce articles under the best conditions 

possible. 

(b) To produce articles of a high standard of excellence. 
III. Some typical purchasers. 

(a) Ignorant of conditions of production. 
(6) Indifferent to conditions of production. 

(c) Unable to find out true conditions of production. 

(d) Lacking any intelligent study of the art of buying. 
rV. Principles to guide the purchaser. 

(a) Relation of the cost of living to the various lines of 

outlay. 
(6) Relation of amoimt of expenses to the size of the 

family pocketbook. 
(c) The responsibility of the purchaser to the producer. 

* Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1911, Vol. I. Washington. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 87 

(d) The responsibility of the purchaser for the health, 
comfort, happiness, and character of the individ- 
ual members of the family.^ 

Though little attention has as yet been paid to this branch 
of the subject in the high schools, there are several courses 
of a broad type given in different universities of the country, 
and as educational reforms are sometimes brought about 
by influences generated from the top, there is hope that, in 
the not distant future, adequate attention will be given 
to these vital topics in our high schools. Among the 
most notable of these university courses may be mentioned 
" The Household as an Economic Agent " at the University 
of California, and " The Economic Position of Women " at 
the University of Chicago. The mere outline of the latter 
course is almost a liberal education in itself, and it offers to 
the teacher anxious to become acquainted with the rami- 
fications of her subject an almost invaluable list of refer- 
ences.^ 

Two kinds of household arts instruction needed. Ther^ 
are two kinds of household arts instruction, and in the or- 
ganization of courses we must distinguish rather sharply 
between them. First there is the usual type generally 
given in our high schools designed to teach the girl to ap- 
preciate and use the best things and methods in her own 
home, and to give a certain measure of what is still called, 
for want of a better name, " culture." The aim of the 
second kind of instruction is to prepare the girl to earn her 
living in some trade or profession which has grown out of 
the duties formerly performed in the home, such as trade 

1 Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1911, Vol. I. Washington. 
* "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 38. 



88 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

cooking, the various needle trades, nursing, and manage- 
ment of various institutions. Up to within recent years the 
dominating aim of the four-year course was cultural, and 
any technique or skill acquired was looked upon largely as 
a by-product, desirable but not essential. Its purpose is 
now being reconsidered and the vocational aspects are being 
stressed, particularly in the last two years. In addition to 
this, two-year courses are being introduced, the avowed aim 
of which is definitely vocational, though always associated 
with a certain amount of related academic work. Whether 
these two-year vocational courses should be placed in the 
high school or whether they should be relegated to special 
schools is not yet decided by educational experts. Both 
tendencies are apparent. 

Modem methods. Lucy Flower Technical High School, 
Chicago. A school recently established for the purpose of 
carrying out the more modern ideas with reference to the 
education of girls is the Lucy L. Flower Technical High 
School for Girls, Chicago, which was opened in September, 
1911. The usual four-year course is offered, consisting in 
brief of the following subjects : 

1. Household science, including laundry work, house 
sanitation and management, and household accounts; in- 
tensified training is given to those who wish to become 
institute workers, managers of kitchens and lunch rooms, 
invalid dietitians, and emergency workers. 

2. Household arts, including plain sewing, millinery, 
embroidery, lace making, infants' and children's clothing, 
care of hospital and hotel linen, and interior decoration ; 
intensified training is given to those who wish to fit them- 
selves for supervising and special work; power and foot 
machines are used. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 89 

3. Science, including chemistry and biology, taught with 
a view to understanding the needs and experience of daily 
life, as well as with the idea of gaining an insight into scien- 
tific method and theory. 

4. Art with specialized work in costume, millinery, and 
embroidery designing. 

5. English, both utilitarian and cultural. 

6. Applied mathematics. 

7. Geography, history, and civics with special reference 
to the needs of women in Chicago. 

8. Physical education and physiology with the idea of 
improving health and of giving recreation and training in 
social requirements. 

9. Music as a recreational and cultural study. 

Art, household art, and household science are required 
through the first two years of the four-year course, and in 
these and the other subjects, where the needs of the girl 
demand no differentiation, the instruction is on the same 
lines as that given in the other high schools of the city. At 
the beginning of the third year the pupil may elect as a 
major subject either art (composition and design), household 
art, or household science, and to this she devotes ten periods 
per week, or a quarter of her whole school time for the next 
two years. She continues to study English and other cul- 
tural subjects. American history and civics are required 
of all students in the fourth year; a year each in physics 
and chemistry is required of those who elect household 
science as their major subject. Art, household science, and 
household art are open to those who have selected other 
major subjects for the last two years of their course. 

Household arts instruction is given in the academic and 
cosmopolitan high schools of the city, and it may be asked 



90 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

how the teaching here differs from that given in the Lucy 
Flower school. In the ordinary high school the time table 
requires four periods of laboratory practice, and three 
periods of prepared recitation each week. Household 
science is generally taken the first year, household arts the 
second year, household science again the third year, and 
household arts the fourth year. The Lucy Flower school 
requires five periods per week in both subjects for two years 
in the four-year course before choice is made of the major 
subject to be studied during the remaining years in the 
school. 

The stress during these early years is placed upon the 
practice rather than on the theory or the related science. 
Its aim is admittedly technical, and it is intended to be 
vocational in the best sense of the word. The specializa- 
tion provided for in the third and foiu'th years leads those 
who have artistic taste and ability to various forms of 
handicraft, such as costume designing. The girl who can 
sew well and has the ability to make tasteful and well- 
fitting garments has in her hands a sure means of earning 
a living. 

Along the cooking side a girl may fit herself to assist in 
managing a lunch room or institution kitchen. Much of 
this training is given through the medium of the lunch 
room already referred to, and the girl who can organize and 
serve a lunch satisfactorily to one hundred or 150 pupils has 
already a trade asset in her fingers. The girls have man- 
aged this so successfully that they have reduced the cost 
of a single substantial lunch to about ten and a half cents 
and have purchased out of the profits all the glass, silver, 
china, and kitchen utensils in use. 

Along the lines of domestic art all the curtains and table 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS • 91 

linen used are made by the sewing classes, and through co- 
operation with the parental school the power machine room 
receives large quantities of material which is made up into 
sheets, pillow cases, towels, aprons, blouses, and night shirts. 
Undergarments and wash dresses are made for the children's 
aid society. The finished articles are handed back to the 
society for distribution to children who would be unable 
to attend school if clothing was not provided for them. 

The second striking featiu'e of the school is the two-year 
course which is offered. The work for the first year in this 
course is identical with that of the first year in the four- 
year course. A major subject is chosen at the end of the 
first year, and at present only two choices are possible, 
household arts and household science, though as the school 
develops it is intended to offer courses in salesmanship, 
typesetting, boxmaking, and other women's industries. The 
requirements in English, art, and the sciences are, of course, 
considerably less than those of the four-year course, and no 
foreign language is offered. The course is designed to 
enable a girl to equip herself with marketable skill and 
be fit for industrial employment by the end of the second 
year. 

In addition to the above courses of high school grade the 
school has a prevocational department which is dealing 
with the problems of the retarded girl in the sixth, seventh, 
and eighth grades. For these, half year, one year, and one 
and a half year courses are organized. These courses are 
taken by girls who need training for immediate self-support. 
The courses offered are cookery, needlework, and machine 
sewing, with other trade work as required. Along with 
the trade subjects instruction is given in English, arithmetic, 
and other academic subjects. No girl less than fourteen 



92 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

years of age is admitted from the fourth and fifth grades and 
none from grades six and seven less than fifteen.^ 

From the above brief description it will be seen that this 
school is attempting to solve three problems vital to the effi- 
ciency of industrial education for girls no less than for boys. 
These problems are : (1) To provide a four-year course of 
training definitely vocational and definitely cultural for those 
girls whose economic circumstances permit them to stay 
that length of time in school. (2) To provide a two-year 
course for girls of high school grade who are able to spend 
only two years in school after the completion of the elemen- 
tary course. This two-year course must result in immediate 
wage-earning ability. (3) To give short intensive courses 
to that large class of girls who are not able to enter a high 
school but who must go to work at the earliest possible 
moment. 
\W Armstrong Manual Training High School, Washington^ 
\D. C? This school provides both two and four year courses 
for girls and boys. The work provided for girls in addition 
to the usual academic subjects is sewing, cookery, dress- 
making, millinery, and laundry work. This is a school for 
negroes, but contains many practical features which are 
well worthy of imitation in all schools that profess to give 
vocational training. It is open to two classes of pupils: 
first, those who have finished the eight years in the grammar 
schools ; second, any colored person 16 years of age or over 
who desires special trade instruction. The vocational 
courses offered are intensely practical. In plain sewing 
and dressmaking the girls do real work, furnishing the 

* School Review, November, 1914. 

2 Report of the Commissioner of Labor, 1910. Department Bureau of 
Labor, Washington. 



INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOLS 93 

material themselves, and keep the product or sell it as 
they desire. They also have the opportunity of doing 
their own laundry work in the school. The school often 
gets requests from families for girls to go into their homes 
to do plain sewing or dressmaking. The girls often spend 
in this way several weeks at a time away from school. For 
such time they are credited on their school year, and are 
considered present in school. The millinery course aims 
to fit girls as helpers and preparers in trade shops. They 
do all the work of making, trimming, and renovating hats. 
The laundry department prepares the girls to do scientific 
laundry work, while the course in domestic science fits for 
domestic service as well as for home duties. A number of 
the girls enter domestic service upon graduation. They 
receive instruction in all kinds of cooking from preparing 
the simplest dishes to planning and serving a full course 
dinner. They serve noon lunches daily to the teachers and 
pupils of the school. I remember with great pleasure the 
luncheon served when I visited this school. The girls 
bought the provisions in the market, cooked the meal, and 
served it in the most efficient manner. Much of the current 
criticism applied to many schools certainly has no applica- 
tion here. 

In conclusion it may be said that the high schools have a 
great part to play in what may be called the vocationalization 
of household arts instruction. This they are recognizing, 
and in different parts of the country various means are be- 
ing taken to bring about that close connection between the 
instruction of the school and the requirements of home and 
industry which must be established if the subject is to 
justify its position in the schools. 



CHAPTER IV 
HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 

I. Opportunities offered in the home. 
II. The cooperation of the parent. 
III. School credit for work in the home. 

It has already been pointed out that one of the most 
serious defects in much of the household arts instruction 
is the lack of vital connection with the living home. That 
industrial education in mechanical pursuits is ineffective 
without adequate practice, and actual work under shop 
conditions has long been admitted, but it is doubtful whether 
even yet the same principle is regarded as applicable to 
household arts instruction. In this subject the living actual 
home, with all its varying conditions, is the workshop, and 
many thoughtful advocates of household arts instruction 
are convinced that until actual practice can be obtained in 
this workshop our instruction will fall far short of its goal. 

Opportunities offered in the home. " Until we recognize 
the limitations of the school, and resolutely turn our atten- 
tion to the opportunities offered in the home for supple- 
menting school work, our educational system as it concerns 
household arts courses will always be defective, visionary, 
and open to the criticism that we are not producing capa- 
ble and thrifty homemakers. No school will ever take the 
place of the home, and so long as the home shifts its respon- 
sibility for physical, moral, and ethical training to the shoul- 

9^ 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 95 

ders of young women who teach for a period of from but three 
to five years, and who are lacking in the practical knowl- 
edge of homemaking, our educational system will continue 
to be the subject of carping criticism from those who do not 
understand that economic conditions have been transformed 
in the last decade, and that while homemaking is no longer 
taught at home, the principles of homemaking taught at 
school must be practiced again and again in a real home, if 
the business of homemaking is to be learned. Why not 
secure that practice in the pupil's own home ? " ^ 

The cooperation of the parent. Difficult as the problem 
was of solution in regard to factories and workshops, it is 
still more so in regard to the home, but the difficulties are 
not insuperable. That this connection is desirable all are 
agreed, but there is considerable difference of opinion as to 
how it is to be best brought about. It is but a truism to say 
that the success of the school depends very largely upon 
the cooperation of the parent with the teacher, but nowhere 
is that truism more applicable than in the case of instruction 
in household arts, and it is probably true that no subject has 
had less of it. 

If this home connection is to be secured, the first step 
must be to obtain the active cooperation of the parent, 
which in this case means the mother. The teacher of 
household arts has a greater opportunity to] secure this 
cooperation than the teacher of other subjects. In geog- 
raphy, arithmetic, etc., there is often no ground common to 
both mother and daughter, but in connection with house- 
hold arts this is not the case. Generally speaking, the 
mothers are afraid of the household arts teachers. The 
teachers will do more effective work if they get to know the 

^ Journal of Home Economics, October, 1915. 



96 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

mothers, but how to obtain this necessary knowledge is 
in many cases a difficult problem. Where the " center 
system " is adopted a teacher may have fifteen classes of 
twenty-four pupils for one and a half hours each week. In 
the high school where the teacher instructs only the pupils 
from the one school the problem is somewhat easier, though 
even there it is not easy of solution. Generally it may be 
said that a system of actual visitation of the homes is im- 
practicable, though much can be done in this direction by 
a teacher who is willing to give up her " spare time " to 
the work. The schools have changed in their function and 
broadened in their scope, and it is desirable that teachers 
should develop themselves in conformity with modern ideas 
of the function of the school. 

Parent-teachers' associations. The first step for the teacher 
to take is the formation of a parent-teachers' association, 
in conjunction with the other teachers of the school. In 
some cases this has taken the form of a " Home Economics 
Club," but it is found that more parents are induced to 
meet, if the objects of the association are general, and con- 
cern the whole welfare of the child than if the association 
is formed to deal with a special subject. After the associa- 
tion has been organized it may be found possible and de- 
sirable in some cases to form a household arts committee, 
which the teacher might make use of in discussing her 
special problems. Here the teacher may get to know, not 
only the problems of the girl but also what is perhaps more 
important, the problems of the mother. She may learn 
how to make her teaching of real help in the home kitchen. 
The mother on her part will become more sympathetic 
towards the work of the teacher. She will be less inclined 
to drive the girl out of the kitchen when she wants to practice. 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 97 

Parent-teachers' associations are being organized through- 
out the country in affiliation with the National Congress 
of Mothers and Parent-Teachers' Associations. This con- 
gress was formed in 1897 and is a national organization with 
state branches in about thirty states, with several hundred 
local mothers' circles, parent- teachers' associations, and other 
affiliated organizations which all together embrace nearly 
one hundred thousand members.^ The formation of these 
associations is not a difficult matter. The first requirement 
is an enthusiastic teacher who has been convinced that such 
an association is necessary. 

At the first meeting a simple constitution should be drawn 
up. The following is suggested by the National Congress : 

Article 1. Object and membership. The object of this 
organization shall be to bring the school and the home 
closer together, and thus work for the best good of the 
children. Any one interested in the welfare of childhood 
may become an active member. 

Article 2. Name and meetings. This organization 

shall be called the of the School and 

shall meet 

Article 3. This organization shall join the National 
Congress of Mothers. Dues of ten cents per member shall 
be forwarded to the congress in May of ^each year. 

Article 4. Officers. The officers of this organization 
shall be a president, five vice-presidents, a secretary, and 
a treasurer. 

Article 5. Committees. There shall be standard com- 
mittees on reception, mutual help, membership, and press. 
(To these might be added one on household arts.) The 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1915, No. 37. 
H 



98 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

president shall be ex-officio a member of all standing com- 
mittees. The officers and the chairmen of all standing 
committees shall constitute the executive committee. 

Members of the committee of the state branch of the 
National Congress of Mothers may sit in conference with 
this committee but without a vote. 

At many of the meetings of these associations the girls 
attending the household arts classes serve light refreshments 
during the interval or at the close of the meeting and this 
always has a good effect. 

One superintendent of schools reports as follows : 

" Mothers' meetings have been held in ten of the school 
kitchens during the past year; bread made and baked by 
each girl in the class is exhibited at these meetings. The 
teacher puts a number on each loaf of bread when it is com- 
pleted, holding the name of the maker in reserve. Three 
of the mothers are selected as judges. The girl who has 
made the best shaped, the lightest, the best baked, and the 
finest grained loaf is considered the prize winner, although 
no prizes are offered. She is complimented on her splendid 
work and feels quite proud of her accomplishment. An 
informal meeting then takes place. Many of the mothers 
have spoken of the great help their daughters have been to 
them since they have attended the cooking classes. A 
simple collation consisting of sandwiches, small cakes, and 
tea made by the girls is then served." 

Parents' days. The parents of the girls attending each 
class should be invited to visit the school two or three times 
a year on the day their children are at work. On such 
occasions the parents will see that the teachers are but 
human. They will see the same mistakes made as they 
themselves make at home. Knives and forks will be dropped. 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 99 

china will be chipped, and the cake may turn out a failure. 
After seeing all these things the parent will come to look 
upon the household arts teacher in a somewhat different 
light, and become much more sympathetic towards the 
work she is doing. 

Demonstrations. As a rule parents respond very readily 
to demonstrations given by the teacher. These may be 
held once a month, and should deal with the preparation of 
common foods. After the first demonstration the mothers 
themselves may be asked to suggest the subject for the next 
meeting. To these demonstrations the parents should be 
encouraged to bring their own problems for solution, and 
to enter into full discussions. The discussion of these 
problems will react on the teacher and will enable her to 
make her instruction more vital and real. The Saturday 
morning bake is an institution of many American homes, 
and one which puts to practical test the value of the school 
training. Home criticism of these experiments should be 
encouraged. In some schools the girls keep a notebook 
in which all household practice is entered and the criticism 
of the parent added. 

Luncheons. Frequent inexpensive luncheons may be 
given. Menu cards may be made by the girls and the 
prices of the different foods should be given. Much can 
be done by this means to eradicate the idea, largely held 
at present, that household arts instruction is of no use to 
people with limited means, and that it is generally extrava- 
gant. Directly the parents are convinced that the teachers 
are as much concerned with the high cost of living as they 
themselves are, a point of contact will have been established 
which will benefit mother, daughter, and teacher. 

School credit for work in the home. Notwithstanding 



100 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

the elaborate equipments in many schools, it is perfectly 
obvious to all who have devoted any thought to the matter 
that nowhere can homemaking be so successfully practiced 
as in the home itself, and this conviction has led to the 
adoption of two plans. The first is known under the general 
name of " home credit " and consists of giving recognition 
in school for certain work done at home, generally under 
the supervision of the mother. Funds cannot be obtained 
in many of the smaller towns to introduce courses in manual 
training, cookery, sewing, music, etc. In 1914, 382 of these 
small places reported to the Commissioner of Education 
that they had not such courses in their schools because the 
boards would not or could not appropriate the funds. Home 
work for which school credit is given in these towns may 
take the place of regular courses in household arts, while 
other cities that are well equipped for teaching these subjects 
give credit for outside work in order that the child may work 
in part under real life conditions and not entirely under the 
artificial conditions of the school. 

The home-credit plan was not introduced primarily for 
instruction in household arts, but was intended to apply 
to any form of work done outside the school. Credit is 
given in many places for music, art, office work, Bible study, 
gardening, etc. Some schools give credit for any work done 
in the home, the parent being allowed to grade the pupils, 
while others allow credit for only such work as can be out- 
lined and supervised by the school authorities. Concern- 
ing these two types there is considerable difference of 
opinion. The plan was probably first introduced by Mr. 
Alderman, then State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
in Oregon, who lectured on the subject from the Pacific to 
the Atlantic. 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 101 

Objections to home credit. The home-credit plan though 
strongly supported by some is not without its adverse 
critics. The chief criticisms offered may be enumerated 
as follows : 

1. The standards of many of the homes in which the work 
will have to be carried on are low, and if the girl does the 
work, as she most likely will, in the same way her mother 
does it, old routine methods, which should be eradicated, 
will be perpetuated. 

2. Giving credit for work in the home is apt to weaken 
the very thing for which the home stands — that spirit of 
mutual helpfulness which makes the home possible. It is 
offering payment for work which should be done gladly 
without any hope of reward. 

3. Many mothers are not capable of passing judgment 
upon the method in which the work has been done. The 
Assistant Superintendent of Oregon, who was associated 
with the Superintendent when the plan was inaugurated, 
stated at the Department of Superintendence in 1914 that 
they would have to take back a great deal of what had been 
said and done relative to school credit for home work. 

4. The plan places too great a temptation before the 
mother. It may happen that a high mark for home work 
may save the girl from failing to graduate, and no mother 
should be asked to grade her daughter's work when it may 
mean so much. 

5. It is not possible to grade all girls alike. The easy- 
going mother will grade high, and equal justice to all is not 
done in the credit they receive. 

6. The home-credit plan is no adequate substitute for 
laboratory equipment and skilled instruction. When in- 
troduced into cities and towns, it is apt to hinder rather than 



102 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

to help the estabhshment of well-equipped departments in 
the school. 

The criticisms offered above all have some measm'e of 
validity, and until further developments show that they can 
be eliminated, educators can hardly be expected to give the 
plan their unqualified approval. Typical schemes formu- 
lated for the purpose of giving household arts instruction 
in the home and linking up its activities with those of the 
school are outlined below. To some of these the objections 
enumerated do not apply. 

The Crete plan. This is a method of teaching the house- 
hold arts by means of work carried on in home kitchens 
under the supervision of expert housewives, according to a 
curriculum drawn up by the educational authorities. It is a 
means of giving definite household arts instruction in places 
where the schools possess no equipment, but it may also be 
used effectively in giving the added home practice required 
in places even where there is an organized school course. 

The plan was introduced at Crete, Nebraska, about 1905 
and has been in successful operation ever since. It depends 
almost entirely for its success upon the hearty sympathetic 
cooperation of the women in the town. Each of the selected 
women is asked to teach the preparation of some given 
article of food, and allow her own kitchen to be used for 
the purpose. In this way twenty lessons on different topics 
are provided. The girls attend the homes of the instructors 
at the time fixed, the lesson is discussed in the parlor or 
sitting room, and the girls take notes in the regular class 
method. The classes usually consist of six members, though 
ten is considered a better number. The instructor generally 
prepares the article, and sometimes cooks it in the presence 
of the girls. The classes meet at half past three, so that very 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 103 

little time is taken from the ordinary school studies. They 
attend once a month, and the four years of high school are 
allowed for the completion of the twenty or more articles. 
A girl generally learns to cook about five articles a year, 
and is required to attend a class only once for each article, 
though she has the privilege of attending as many times as 
she wishes. After the lesson the girls are expected to try 
the recipe at home and are allowed to receive help from 
any source. Exhibitions and demonstrations are frequently 
held and the plan is strongly supported by both teachers 
and parents. 

The advantages of this plan seem to be as follows : 

1. There is no expense on the part of the school for salary, 
equipment, or material, as the services are voluntary, the 
home kitchen equipment is used, and the product is used in 
the family. 

2. The girls have an opportunity to visit many different 
homes and to obtain broadened ideas regarding household 
furnishing and management. - 

3. The girls become interested in cooking, and relieve 
their mothers of many of the household duties, being able 
to take care of the house during holidays or in case of the 
sickness of the mother. 

4. The mutual influence of the girls and the selected 
instructors is good. 

The Crete plan is best suited to towns and villages having 
a population of not more than three thousand, and is capable 
of considerable modification for rural districts. The de- 
velopment of the subject in such districts has been hampered 
by the cost of equipment and the difficulty of providing a 
special teacher, but with a plan of the above character these 
difficulties disappear. 



104 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Home credit in Franklin, Ohio. The schools in Franklin 
give credit for " any course that may reasonably take the 
place of manual training or domestic science as taught in 
the public schools." The home course in household arts 
outlined in that city is as follows : 

1. A systematic course that shall include plain cooking, 
baking (bread, cake, and pastry), the proper care of the 
kitchen and utensils, and the proper setting and care of the 
table for meals. Such course should include the entire 
preparation of at least one meal a day for a definite period ; 
the meal to have a reasonable variety from day to day. 
The course should include, in part at least, the purchase of 
the food. 

2. A systematic course in sewing that shall include plain 
sewing, patching, mending, and darning ; it must include 
the cutting and fitting of simple garments, and may include 
embroidery and fancy work. 

3. The two preceding courses may be supplemented by 
systematic courses and training in the general care of the 
house, as sweeping, dusting, and scrubbing, the care of 
furniture, the care of the sick or of children, the care of 
flowers, chickens, etc. 

According to this scheme, credit is given upon the recom- 
mendation of a committee of women appointed by the 
superintendent, and approved by the board of education 
or its president. Application for such courses must be 
made in advance to the superintendent, and all details 
must be arranged with his approval. 

Home credit in Ames, Iowa. A very satisfactory plan 
has been worked out by the household economics teacher 
at the Iowa State College of Agriculture with help and 
suggestion from the Superintendent of Public Schools, 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 105 

Ames, Iowa. It was thoroughly discussed in each parent- 
teachers' association in the town. The parents criticized 
freely, gave many useful suggestions, and most important of 
all offered their hearty cooperation. From a bulletin issued by 
the Superintendent the following particulars are gathered : ^ 

The plan was organized with the hope that it would prove 
an incentive for the girl to do at home some of the things 
she had learned in school, and thus carry into the home some 
new ways of working that would be the means of exchange 
of ideas between mother and daughter that would result 
beneficially to both. The following are the main regulations 
regarding the work : 

(1) A total of two credits may be earned by home work in 
home economics, the value of one credit being three hundred 
points. These credits will apply on high school graduation. 

(2) Fractional credit will be given for part work. 

(3) Enough work must be done to make one credit in 
order to have the work apply on high school graduation. 

(4) The work may extend throughout the student's four- 
year high school course. 

(5) General work should be reported each month, records 
being kept each week. 

(6) A grade of seventy-five per cent, or fair, is necessary 
for credit. The work is divided into three branches — 
cookery, general housework, and sewing. Two thirds credit 
is allowed for each, making up the total of two credits — 
six hundred points. In cookery the family recipe must be used 
(enough to serve six persons), and whenever possible a sample 
of the product is to be taken to the school for examination. 
The recipes, stating method and giving itemized cost to- 

1 Industrial Arts Magazine, May, 1914, and Journal of Home Economics, 
April, 1914. 



106 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

gether with a statement of the guardian or parent stating 
that the entire work was done by the girl, must accompany 
each dish prepared. Blanks are provided for this purpose. 
In grading bread or cake a score card is used and the product 
is taken to the school and marked by the teacher. To the 
girls who are taking, or who have completed, first-year cook- 
ery one third credit — one hundred points — is given. 
Twenty-two dishes are suggested ; of these, ten are required, 
five others may be chosen from the list. The required dishes 
receive seven points credit, the chosen dishes six. Twenty 
dishes are chosen for the second year and marked in the 
same way. 

General housework carried on for sixteen months gives 
the full two thirds credit ; for eight months, one third credit. 
The credits given for general work are twelve and a half 
points for one month. No credit is given unless a task is 
done for four weeks. The work in this branch consists of 
bed making, care of bedroom, helping with general house- 
work half an hour each day and one hour on Saturday. In 
sewing, any work from a prescribed list may be chosen and 
credit is given up to two hundred points. As before, the work 
is divided into first and second years. All the sewing is taken 
to school to be judged and score cards are used for this pur- 
pose. Additional sewing and handwork may be done by 
arrangement with the teacher who decides the points to be 
given for the work. 

It will be seen that the Ames plan has some decided and 
practical advantages over the haphazard method of any 
kind of work now in use in many places. The written state- 
ment required of each girl insures that she understands what 
she has been doing, and as the product is judged in many 
cases by the teacher and not by the parent, credit is allowed 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN THE HOME 107 

for the excellence of the product and not for the time spent 
in its production. In the general housework the course is 
prescribed, but its method of performance is judged at 
present only by the parent. Perhaps as the course develops 
it may be found possible for the school to supervise this work 
also, or to establish standards by which the parents will be 
able to judge it with some degree of uniformity. The girls 
might also be required to make a statement describing the 
different operations and giving methods and reasons. One 
merit of this branch of the work is the required daily 
performance of certain tasks through a prolonged period. 

Other methods. One high school has attacked the problem 
in another way. It is planned that the graduating class of 
this school shall not attend the school sessions during the 
month of June. Each girl will remain in her own home, 
taking entire charge of the expenses and general work of the 
household during that month, while her mother makes visits, 
or sits at ease and observes her daughter's efforts, rendering 
as little help as possible. Each girl is visited every day by 
one of her high school teachers. The teacher gives advice 
and criticism if necessary, but as far as possible no one is 
to interfere with the actual self-directed work of the girl.^ 

The Rock Island, Illinois, High School has adopted an 
unusual plan in order to give practical application to the 
sewing. Twenty-six girls have made themselves responsible 
for clothing twenty-six little orphan girls in a local orphan 
asylum. The high school pupils visited the asylum, and 
each chose the girl for whom she wished to make the clothes.^ 

A novel plan is being worked out in Ogden, . The 

last six years of the public school courses are organized with 

* Popular Educator, November, 1913. 

' Manual Training and Vocational Education, February, 1915. 



108 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

a longer school day than usual, from 8.30 in the morning 
until 4.30 in the afternoon, divided into two sessions, one 
devoted to academic work and the other to industrial, social, 
and physical work; the academic work being put into one 
half day and the industrial into the other. Pupils who can 
show that they have better industrial, commercial, or house- 
hold arts work outside the school than is offered by the school 
curriculum may be excused from any part of the industrial 
half day to take their industrial work outside the school. 
A mother with a large family of children may need her 
daughter's help for an hour or two in the morning or in the 
afternoon. The girl may be excused for any part of the day 
for a time not exceeding one and a half hours without losing 
any of her academic studies. Before granting this conces- 
sion each case is carefully investigated, to make sure that 
the home has the proper attitude and that the industrial 
work which it offers is at least equal to that which is offered 
by the school. Those who cannot prove their case remain 
in the junior high school during the entire session of six 
hours. The industrial work which is done outside the school 
is accepted after due investigation as equal in value to that 
which others do in the school.^ 

Such, in general, are some of the methods that are being 
used to remove what is admitted to be one of the chief 
defects in our household arts instruction. A perfectly 
satisfactory solution has not yet been found. Each of the 
plans enumerated possesses points of excellence about which 
there can be no dispute, and it is possible that further ex- 
perimentation will evolve a plan which embodies these and 
eliminates the defects which educators have felt compelled 
to criticize adversely. 

1 Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1914. Washington. 



CHAPTER V 

CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 

I. Introduction. 

II. Organized instruction outside the school. 

III. Home School of Providence, Rhode Island. 

IV. Classes for factory girls in Boston. 

V. Part-time instruction for housekeepers. 

VI. Necessity for judicious advertising. 

VII. Evening classes. 

VIII. The visiting nurse. 

IX. The visiting housekeeper. 

X. Movable schools of household arts. 

XI. Short coiu-ses. 

XII. Demonstration trains. 

XIII. Women's institutes and homemakers' conferences. 

XIV. Government bulletins. 
XV. Special agencies. 

XVI. Private organizations. 

Introduction. The tendency of modern education is to 
lay the greatest stress on the education of the small child. 
The time has yet to come when educators will open their eyes 
to the fact that one of the great modern problems in educa- 
tion is woman, and how to fit her for the numerous addi- 
tional duties that are devolving upon her. The schools are 
engaged in educating the next generation, but the present 
generation deserves adequate consideration if better homes 
and efficient living are ever to be realized. The girls, young 
women, and homemakers who have left the recognized schools 
are greater in numbers than those who are enrolled on the 

109 



110 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

school registers, and the problem of educating these is even 
more vital, if that be possible, than that of educating those 
who are actually in the schools. Continued education in 
household arts has some advantages over that given in the 
schools ; there the benefit to the young girl is deferred. In 
the continuation school or class she is nearer to the time 
when she expects to be able to use the knowledge she is ac- 
quiring. She is more mature and is able to take greater ad- 
vantage of the instruction offered. 

Organized instruction outside the schooL Various forms 
of continued education and extension service have been in 
existence for some time, and have done and are still doing 
excellent work. Many of these are, however, organized by 
voluntary associations and have been somewhat of an in- 
formal and largely inspirational character, but now organized 
instruction for those outside the regular school population 
is being formulated by many educational authorities. Fed- 
eral aid is being given through the provisions of the Smith- 
Lever and Smith-Hughes bills, and several states, notably 
Massachusetts, are placing classes in household arts open to 
wage-earning women on the same footing as regards grants 
in aid as other industrial subjects. 

Continuation classes are intended for those who are not 
legally obliged to attend the ordinary day school, and as a 
rule are open only to these. They are of two kinds — day 
and evening — but the modern tendency is to substitute, 
as far as possible, attendance in the daytime for that in the 
evening. Several examples of such schools and courses will 
now be given. 

The Home School of Providence, Rhode Island.^ This 
school is situated in one of the poorest and most densely 

1 Trowbridge, Ada Wilson, Vocational Education, Vol. 2, 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 111 

popvilated parts of Providence. It consists of an ordinary 
apartment and includes hall, living room, sewing room, 
dining room, two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, and base- 
ment laundry. The school and its objects were extensively 
advertised in the neighborhood. When the hour for open- 
ing the school approached, it is said that the children 
crowded the street in front of the home so thickly, that it 
was impossible for teamsters to pass. No girl could be ad- 
mitted under thirteen years of age, but the first week showed 
an enrolment of over 175 girls and an ever growing waiting 
list. The rooms were renovated and furnished by the pupils 
of the Technical High School. They selected the wall 
paper, planned the color scheme, selected the furniture, 
paint and floor stain, and made and decorated the curtains. 
The boys made picture frames, towel racks, ironing boards, 
and a cabinet for the bathroom. 

Many furnishings were left for the home school girls them- 
selves to complete. During the first weeks they hemmed 
tablecloths, napkins, dish towels, hung curtains and pic- 
tures, placed furniture, arranged the dishes, and became 
generally acquainted with the problem of cleaning and fur- 
nishing a new home. They now do all the work connected 
with the school except looking after the furnace. All the 
linen used in the school is washed and ironed by the pupils ; 
an average of over twenty-five dozen pieces are washed and 
ironed each month. There are three departments in connec- 
tion with the school — sewing, cooking, and general house- 
keeping — and a separate teacher is in charge of each. Each 
group consists of ten pupils, and thus a division of thirty 
pupils is able to attend at one time. 

One division attends on Monday and Tuesday afternoons 
from four to six o'clock ; a second, on Monday and Tuesday 



112 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

evenings from 7.30 to 9.30 ; a third, on Wednesday and Thurs- 
day afternoons of each week, and a fifth on Friday after- 
noons. Friday evening is reserved for social gatherings. 
Sewing, housekeeping, and cookery are taken in consecutive 
lessons, coming back to sewing again on the fourth lesson. 
Each girl thus receives instruction in the work of all three 
departments. The sewing and cooking are of an intensely 
practical character and the equipment simple but adequate. 
The cooking is intended to give the girls a knowledge of the 
preparation of simple home food, and the serving of break- 
fasts, luncheons, and dinners to small families. The course 
in housekeeping includes all the ordinary household routine, 
and in addition talks on hygiene and on books. In hygiene 
the work embraces the care of the hair, teeth, complexion, 
and more intimate personal matters, and this experience has 
led the teachers to the conclusion that many things can be 
discussed in the home environment that it is impossible to 
approach adequately in the ordinary classroom. 

The work of the evening division differs in many ways from 
that offered in the afternoons. These classes are composed 
of working girls who are looking forward to having homes of 
their own in the near future, and accordingly much attention 
is given to the selection of furniture, effective ways of pre- 
paring and serving meals, and simple entertaining. As a 
part of their work the girls fitted up an attic room, selecting 
and putting on the paper, painting the woodwork, finishing 
the floors, making the box furniture and the curtains, and 
framing the pictures. 

The cost of materials and the proper division of income is 
dealt with, and as many problems as possible are given to 
teach the satisfaction that will follow in the practice of econ- 
omy, of buying only what can be paid for, and the intelligent 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 113 

joy of being inventive and resourceful. In every possible 
way the school has been put into direct cooperation with the 
homes. The care of children receives special attention, and 
the girls are encouraged to bring their home problems in 
millinery, dressmaking, or of any other kind to the teachers of 
the school for solution. The public library and the traveling 
library of the State Board of Education have supplied nearly 
two hundred volumes for the use of the school. A flower and 
vegetable garden has been planted under the direction of the 
supervisor of school gardens, and this is cared for by the girls. 
The commercial side is not neglected. The school sells its 
own product of bread, cakes, etc. ; and it is quite possible that 
some of the training so given will enable many of the young 
women to undertake similar work in their own homes, and 
thus render unnecessary their entrance into factories and the 
consequent neglect of the home which outside employment 
often brings about. 

Classes for factory girls in Boston. Another method of 
dealing with this problem is that used in Boston, for girls 
employed in factories. Several employers who are convinced 
that training of this kind is essential to the girls in their 
employment, permit them to attend classes during working 
hours. The director of continuation schools makes the 
following statement regarding these classes : ^ 

" The school committee has rented an apartment located 
conveniently for the employees of several candy factories, 
and has equipped the apartment with such furniture as could 
be provided by a young couple with small means. A very 
competent homemaker of practical experience has been placed 
in charge of this apartment, and she receives from the candy 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 37. 
I 



114 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

factories groups of approximately ten girls, who are per- 
mitted to attend during working hours without loss of pay. 
Sessions are of two hours each, conducted twice a week. 
The teacher in charge is now handling ^ve such groups. 
During the time when the classes are not in session the 
teacher visits the factories, and homes of her pupils. In- 
struction is intended to cover all the ordinary duties of a 
simple but well-managed home. These classes have been 
in operation for about two years and have been received 
with hearty support by both employers and the community." 
Part-time instruction for housekeepers. In the indus- 
trial training of boys and men the greatest developments 
of recent years have been in the direction of " part-time " 
education. By this means the work of the school is closely 
related to that of the shop. The student is allowed to spend 
half the day in school and shop alternately, or in some cases 
alternate weeks are so spent. This plan has suggestions in 
it for education for the home. The home is the factory of 
the housekeeper, and a combined plan of practice in the 
home and lessons in school might be expected to produce 
as gratifying results in this case as part-time instruction has 
brought about in the other field. Great difficulties have been 
experienced in working out a satisfactory plan of part-time 
instruction in connection with the shops, difficulties of or- 
ganization, control of output, one boy taking up another's 
job, and many others, but these have all been successfully 
overcome. In the case of the housekeeper no such practical 
difiiculties exist. She can generally arrange her work so that 
she can leave it at stated times, to attend daytime lectures 
and continuation classes ; and such classes have many decided 
advantages over the usual evening plan. There are many 
housekeepers who find themselves unequal to the tasks they 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 115 

have undertaken, and who would be quite willing to attend 
classes if they were held at a convenient time. This system 
of daytime instruction has been tried in a few isolated places, 
and the success achieved warrants its extension. 

In Rochester, New York, an afternoon course commenc- 
ing at four o'clock in '^health lessons for women" was organ- 
ized. Twenty-four lessons, each an hour or so in length, 
were given, and included such subjects as care of the child, 
first aid and emergencies, prevention and recognition of dis- 
ease, motherhood, nursing, making beds, bandaging, care of 
sick room, dietetics, nursing the invalid child,^and obstetrical 
care. The first twelve lectures were given by a woman 
physician, and the second twelve by a nurse. 

The Montclair experiment. The experiment conducted 
in Montclair, New Jersey, is worthy of note.^ Reference has 
already been made to the plan adopted in this city to give the 
household arts instruction in the schools more direct applica- 
tion to the home by cooking in family quantities. It was the 
success of this plan which suggested the idea that classes could 
be organized which would directly benefit the working house- 
keeper. Courses in household arts had been offered previ- 
ously, but had met with little success, probably owing to the 
fact that the housewife thinks she does not need a general 
course in cookery, and that she would have to spend her time 
in doing many things that she already knows how to do. 
The attendance at evening household arts classes is generally 
made up of young girls and prospective housekeepers. The 
mature housekeeper does not usually attend, though many 
of them are ready to admit that there are many things which 
they would like to learn if they could do so without wasting 
time. 

* Industrial Arts Magazine, January, 1915. 



116 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The following circular was sent into the homes of all the 
pupils of the schools : 

" Beginning Monday Jan. 19, 1914, the school department 
of Montclair will offer short unit courses in household arts 
for all those interested in such training. Some of the sug- 
gested courses are as follows : ten lessons each on bread, 
rolls, and biscuits; desserts; salads and salad dressings; 
canning and preserving; fancy cooking; invalid cooking; 
and six lessons on marketing. Each course is complete in 
itself. Membership in one class obliges no one to take the 
other courses. If the members of the class so desire, the 
instruction will be*given in the form of demonstration lessons. 
The classes will meet at any hour satisfactory to the students. 
A small fee will be charged to cover the cost of materials. 
Those wishing to join are requested to give their names to 
Miss Bridge, Miss Hasson, or to the superintendent of 
schools." 

Over two hundred women attended the first meeting. They 
divided themselves into groups, retired to different rooms, and 
discussed with the teachers plans for carrying on the work. 
The place and hour of meeting of each class was fixed to suit 
the wishes of the students so far as that could be done with- 
out interfering with the regular duties of the teachers. As 
a result of these conferences the subjects were somewhat 
changed and the courses became : theory of marketing and 
fireless cooking ; marketing with practical work in cooking ; 
salads and desserts, two courses; chemistry of foods with 
practical menus; bread and rolls; household routine. 
These courses led to the request that courses be offered for 
maids during the next year, and the housewives proposed to 
allow an additional afternoon off per week, provided their 
maids would use this time in taking the courses offered. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 117 

Every high school that possesses a household arts depart- 
ment might extend its services to the community by offering 
the facilities of that department to housewives at any time 
it is not required by the regular students. Some schools 
have tried the plan of permitting housewives to attend the 
ordinary classes in homemaking subjects held in the school, 
but this plan has not been generally successful. Older women 
are disinclined to attend classes with young girls, and more- 
over the type of instruction suited to the latter does not 
meet the necessities of the former. 

Use of the factory organization. The United States Steel 
Company has introduced the model housekeeping center into 
its welfare work at the Lambert mine in the Connellsville 
district of Pennsylvania, and at Gary, West Virginia. The 
Winthrop Normal and Industrial College, Rock Hill, South 
Carolina, has organized work for the improvement of mill 
villages. This is carried on by " the special agent of mill 
village improvement in connection with the United States 
Department of Agriculture " and a special agent in charge of 
*' home-economics extension work in rural, school, and mill 
communities."^ 

An example of employers allowing their employees to at- 
tend such courses during working hours without loss of pay is 
that of the apartment for candy factory girls in Boston, pre- 
viously referred to. There is much need for instruction of 
this kind in many industrial communities, and usually the 
best approach is made through the factory organization. In 
one instance the " cook house " was used which a cotton 
mill had provided for the employees to use in cooking their 
dinner. The vocational school secured the use of this build- 

^" Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1914, No. 37. 



118 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ing for one night a week. The women were invited to meet 
here, and cook their own supper. Two sample menus with 
their cost were given on the poster which was placed in the 
mill. The foreman took the names of those wishing to join, 
and more women applied than it was possible to accommodate. 
The women came directly from their work and cooked their 
supper under the direction of the teacher. The women 
themselves paid the cost of material which was never over 
twelve cents per person. The success of the class was most 
pronounced, and the women asked to have the class continued 
P^ermanently. The following sample menus show the kind 
of cookery in which these women were interested. They 
also show that the ordinary course in cookery would not have 
met their needs. 

Supper No. 1 Supper No. 2 

Cheese pudding, Baked onions, Codfish in tomato sauce, Cereal 
Cold slaw, Peanut cookies, muffins, Dried apricot short- 

Coffee cakes, Cocoa 

Cheese pudding $0.48 Codfish in tomato sauce $0.30 

Baked onions 10 Muffins 24 

Cold slaw 15 Shortcake 20 

Cookies 40 Cocoa 28 

Coffee 28 Fuel _^ 

Fuel _J^ Total cost $1.10 

Total cost $1.51 For "family" of 14, indi- 

For "family" of 14, indi- vidual cost $.08^ 

vidual cost $.11 

Judicious advertising. The method of bringing continua- 
tion or extension classes to the attention of the women whose 
attendance is desired deserves some consideration. Judi- 
cious advertising is just as necessary in educational affairs 
as it is in business, and the sooner educational authorities 

1" Cooking in the Vocation School." United States Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Bulletin, 1915, No. 1. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 119 

recognize this, the sooner the efforts that are being put forth 
will meet with success. 

" The unwillingness to adopt aggressive methods of ad- 
vertising is a further reason for the failure of some evening 
industrial schools. . . . They have commonly assumed 
that to reach pupils they have only to make a statement in 
the newspapers or school department circular that certain 
courses are to be offered. They have seldom taken the point 
of view that they had education to sell, and that if they were 
going to do business, they would have to adopt the methods of 
publicity employed by such business concerns." ^ 

Methods in London, England. The industrial schools and 
classes of the London County Council are well known, and 
it may be useful to enumerate the advertising methods 
adopted by that body. Their general scheme of advertising 
may be stated as follows : 

1 . The exhibition of a notice on the whole straight side of 
electric cars during September, and transparent tablets fixed 
inside the cars for the whole of the session. 

2. The issue of subject posters sixty inches by forty inches, 
exhibited on railway stations, various properties of the coun- 
cil, such as parks, fire stations, etc. 

3. The exhibition of bills outside all schools, announcing 
the date and opening of the classes. 

4. The issue of district pamphlets giving particulars of 
classes at all the various polytechnics, technical schools, 
schools of art, commercial and science centers, evening schools, 
and trade schools. 

5. The free issue by certain of the underground electric 
railway companies, and the South Eastern and Chatham 

("•'1 Short Unit Courses for Wage-earners, Bulletin 159. Department of 
Labor, Washington. 



120 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Railway Company of one hundred and fifty thousand pocket 
cards, showing the institutions on the route of their respective 
railways, the subjects taught, etc., and the nearest station at 
which to alight. Similar arrangements are made with the 
General Motor Omnibus Company. 

6. The issue of individual school posters. 

7. The issue of card bills and double-demy posters for ex- 
hibition in the elevators of electric railways, in workshops, 
factories, offices, and other public places. 

8. The issue of prospectuses and handbills for each particu- 
lar institution and evening school respectively. 

9. The advertisement of technical institutions in trade 
journals, and art schools in art journals, and of both in the 
local press. 

10. The issue of trade handbills for circulation among 
members of trade unions and federations. 

11. The issue of literature, posters, syllabuses, and hand- 
bills. 

12. The issue of special handbills advertising specific 
classes. In all, some two and a half million prospectuses, 
pamphlets, handbills, etc. are distributed each year. 

Notwithstanding this extensive advertising, the attendance 
at these classes is not considered satisfactory by the authori- 
ties, but Dr. Sadler states : ^ ^' I can find no country in which 
voluntary attendance at evening classes is so large in propor- 
tion to the adult population as it jis in England and Wales. 
Over forty per cent of the attendance in London is females." 

Advertising to reach the housewife. The above methods are 
particularly calculated to reach that large class of men and 
women who travel to and from their daily work, and are 

^ Royal Commission on Industrial and Technical Education, 1913, 
Part 3, Vol. 1. Ottawa, Canada. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 121 

more or less mixed up with the busy industrial life of a great 
city, but when it comes to the housewife, other means must 
be used. Posters do not go into the home, handbills are 
often thrown away unread, while many housewives do not 
read the advertising columns of the newspaper, with perhaps 
the exception of the bargain pages. It might not at all be 
a bad idea to print the announcement of these classes in the 
center of the bargain pages. One of the most effective means 
yet adopted is the personal circular, or circular letter sent 
through the mail. This, properly addressed, has a per- 
sonal appeal which is always read. Mailing lists may be 
made up from various sources, such as schools, churches, labor 
organizations, women's clubs, etc. Such circulars should con- 
tain all necessary information and render unnecessary any 
further enquiries. The following are copies of circulars that 
have been successfully used : 

COOKING AND SEWING CLASSES FOR WOMEN 

OF 1 

(A) At the GirVs Department of the Trade School 

When If there is sufficient demand it is planned to open 

these classes January 5th. 

Where At the Girls' Department of the Trade School, 79 

Broadway. 

For whom .... These classes are opened to any woman or girl over 
sixteen years old who lives in the city of 

Cost These classes are free. 

Session Each class meets once a week from three until five 

o'clock. The number of lessons is given after each 
subject. 

Product For the dressmaking classes you bring your own 

material and have what you make. The school 
furnishes the material for the cooking classes, but 
you can have what you make by paying what it 
costs. The classes in expert cleaning and fine 

^ " Cooking in the Vocation School." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1915, No. 1. 



122 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

laundry work will give you a chance to cleanse 
your own clothes. 

Teachers These classes will all be under the charge of women 

who are experts in the work they teach. 

Registration . . To register, fill out the attached blank and mail to 
the trade school, 79 Broadway. Additional blanks 
may be obtained at this office. A woman may regis- 
ter for any one of these courses or for more than one 
if she wishes. Admission to all these classes is 
. limited to fifteen to twenty pupils ; the preference 
will be g'iven to those who register first ; so register 
at once. You wiU be notified by mail if your ap- 
plication can be accepted, and the date on which 
the first meeting of the class wiU be held. No 
class will be opened unless there are at least fifteen 
applications for instruction in that subjeeft. 

Cooking for Housekeepers 

1. Yeast, bread, biscuits, and rolls 6 lessons 

2. Baking-powder biscuits and breakfast cakes .... 6 lessons 

3. Pastry 6 lessons 

4. Cake 8 lessons 

5. Desserts 10 lessons 

6. Breakfasts 5 lessons 

7. Dinner-pail lunches 8 lessons 

8. School-children's lunches 8 lessons 

9. Sunday-night suppers 6 lessons 

10. Simple family meals 8 lessons 

11. Cooking for infants and invalids 8 lessons 

SjEWiNG FOR Housekeepers 

12. Shirt waists 8 lessons 

13. Fancy waists 12 lessons 

14. Skirts 12 lessons 

15. Unlined dresses 16 lessons 

16. Underwear 10 lessons 

17. Baby clothes 12 lessons 

18. Children's clothes 16 lessons 

19. Household sewing (bed linen, table linen, etc.). . 8 lessons 

20. Mending and repairing 8 lessons 

21. White embroidery 10 lessons 

22. Use of sewing machine attachments 6 lessons 

Can you use the tucker, ruffler, hemmer, and 

binder which belong to your sewing machine ? 

23. Embroidery for gowns 10 lessons 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 123 



Cleaning and Fine Laundry Work for Housekeepers 

24. Washing blankets and flannels 4 lessons 

25. Laundering shirt waists 4 lessons 

26. Fine starching and ironing 6 lessons 

27. Removing stains 6 lessons 

28. Cleaning 6 lessons 

29. Cleaning solutions 4 lessons 

Application Blank 

Date 

Name Address Occupation 

Courses desired (give both name and number) 



(B) At the Housekeeping Center, 96^ View Street 

Do you want to know 

How to cook How to sew 

Meat ? Shirt waists ? 

Vegetables ? Dresses ? 

Soup? Skirts? 

Bread ? Underwear ? 

Cake? Children's clothing? 

Breakfast ? Household 

Dinner ? Mending ? 

Supper ? Sewing ? 



These classes are for you. 

They are free. 
If you wish to belong, come and put your name in Thursday or 
Friday, 26th and 27th, 3 to 4.30 p.m. 

Evening classes. Even if all those who find it possible to 
attend during the daytime take the instruction offered, there 
still will be a large number who have not been provided for. 
This number will include all those young girls and women who 
are engaged in what we called, by way of distinction, the 
wage-earning occupations. For these, there is no other 
resource in the present economic condition of society but 
attendance at evening classes. It may be at once admitted 



124 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

that such classes have many decided disadvantages, and the 
objections urged against them are even more potent when 
appHed to classes for women than when applied to classes 
for men. Pages might be written stating the objections that 
have been urged against evening schools, but no useful pur- 
pose would be served thereby. The following, however, may 
be quoted as summarizing this aspect of the question : 

" The evening school problem is a real bane to industrial 
education, and is not confined to any one country or to any 
one people, but is common to all the world. It is inherent 
in no particular system, but finds its origin in an unavoidable 
condition of life. It is unfortunate but apparently irre- 
mediable. It has received the close attention and earnest 
thought of the most enthusiastic and conscientious promoters 
of the new education. It has very likely come to stay. Not 
until we enjoy a universal prosperity can opportunities of 
education be open equally to all. The disadvantages of 
evening schools are numerous and are easily patent to any 
interested observer. Intellectual application on Sundays, 
or in the evening when the body is exhausted with a day or 
week of physical employment, leads to overexertion, and is 
apt to arouse a feeling of repulsion in the learner towards the 
study which robs him of well-earned repose. It has also been 
suggested that Sunday study of industrial subjects inter- 
feres with church work, and leads to a neglect of religion 
and higher moral thinking. Furthermore, evenings and 
Sundays together offer too few hours for proper systematic 
instruction." ^ 

The time may come in the distant future when evening 
classes will be dispensed with, but in the meantime they are 

^ " Industrial Education and Industrial Conditions in Germany," Bulletin 
No. 33, Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 125 

necessary, and while working for their abolition let us en- 
deavor to make them more effective, and to remove many 
of their admitted defects. When the manufacturer can be 
made to see that the improvement of the conditions under 
which his employees live means an increase in their industrial 
efficiency, then he will be willing as a business investment to 
allow his " hands " time to acquire the knowledge which 
will enable them to make that improvement. When he is con- 
vinced of this, he will be willing to allow the girls and women 
in his employment to attend properly organized household 
arts classes during their working hours without loss of pay. 
In the welfare work which is becoming more common in large 
industrial establishments, there are signs that instruction 
in all that pertains to the home is being more regarded as 
having a direct relation to industrial efficiency. 

Now, admitting that evening class instruction in household 
arts is at present both necessary and unavoidable, let us con- 
sider the means to be adopted to make it more effective than 
it is at present. 

Traditions of the day school. It is essential that the tradi- 
tions of the day school be laid aside. Unfortunately these 
traditions have been allowed to a large extent to govern 
evening class procedure. The methods that are supposed to 
be suitable for the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade girl, for 
example, group work and cooking in microscopic quantities, 
are not necessarily suitable for those who are much older and 
have had more experience. The teachers of the evening 
classes are generally the teachers of the day classes, and too 
often the lessons of the day schools are repeated in the evening 
schools without the slightest variation. It is not generally 
recognized that these evening school students have entered on 
a new life since leaving the day school, and that they need the 



126 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

guidance, the knowledge, and the treatment appropriate 
to that Hfe. The lack of housekeeping experience has been 
referred to in connection with household arts instruction in 
the elementary schools, and it is even more detrimental here, 
and the teacher should adopt every means possible to ac- 
quaint herself with the home conditions of her students. 
One class in four might very well be set apart for the dis- 
cussion of the individual problems of the students, or the 
teacher might devote a certain time to the private discussion 
with each student of her own peculiar problems. 

Changed methods of approach. Changes must be made in 
the method of approaching the subject. The usual method 
at present in use is the " general course in cooking," which 
attempts to give the girl or woman a very general idea of the 
whole activities of the household. This may be suitable as 
an introduction to the subject for the girl of fourteen or six- 
teen years of age, especially if she has had no previous training 
in the elementary school, but such a course does not take into 
account the skill and knowledge that many of the girls at- 
tending evening schools have obtained by actual experience. 
The general course also assumes that all attending the 
classes have the same requirements ; while as a matter of fact, 
notwithstanding the similarity of the household arts, there 
are only small groups with common needs. Voluntary stu- 
dents will not attend classes unless they are given what they 
need, and not what the teacher thinks they ought to need. 
" The chaotic state of the work in some of the evening indus- 
trial schools has been due to the fact that the schools have not 
clearly understood the purpose of the work. Many schools 
have regarded the evening work for women, for example, as 
uplift work ; they have failed to realize that the fundamental 
aim of evening work for women should be to increase their 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 127 

efficiency as workers either in the trade or in the home. Or 
again they have not understood the purpose because they 
have not known what factors in any given case enter into 
efficiency." ^ 

Unit course system . The best means yet discovered of han- 
dling this situation is the ''unit course system." The short- 
unit or brief course is an intensified form of instruction de- 
signed to serve in a limited number of lessons the specific 
needs of a particular group of students. Each course is com- 
plete in itself. One great merit of the unit system is its 
flexibility. It is able to meet the requirements of the house- 
wife who needs assistance in some particular phase of her 
work, but is not able to take an extended course, and it also 
meets the needs of the one who is willing and able to take a 
complete course, as by taking units enough a well-rounded 
training may be obtained. The flexibility of the system may 
be illustrated as follows. If the letters A B C D represent 
different stages in the usual school course, the only point at 
which the student can enter is at A. If she wishes to enter 
at C, she must pass examinations on A and B. If these letters, 
on the other hand, represent unit courses, a pupil may enter 
at any position of A B C D for the instruction required and 
still, if she wishes, complete the whole course 

A B C D 

B C D A 

C D A B 

D A B C 

In the general course in household arts many individual 
lessons fail to appeal to certain pupils, and these feel that 
their time has been wasted. In the unit course method the 

^ "Short Unit Courses for Wage Earners," Bulletin No. 159. Department 
of Labor, Washington. 



128 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

student gets exactly what she requires. The following are 
sample unit courses which may be used for part time instruc- 
tion in homemaking for housekeepers. These courses are 
only suggestive, and this is in no sense a complete list of work 
which may be given in this subject. The courses themselves 
and the number of lessons in each should be arranged to meet 
the needs of the pupils.^ 

Meat 8 lessons 

Soups and stews 10 lessons 

Left-overs 8 lessons 

Meat substitutes 16 lessons 

Fish 6 lessons 

Clams and oysters 5 lessons 

Vegetables 8 lessons 

Bread and rolls 6 lessons 

Muffins and quick bread 5 lessons 

Cake 8 lessons 

Cookies 6 lessons 

Cold desserts 6 lessons 

Hot desserts 6 lessons 

Frozen desserts 5 lessons 

Pastry 6 lessons 

Salads 8 lessons 

Sandwiches 4 lessons 

Eggs 4 lessons 

Canning and preserving 12 lessons 

"Dinner pails" 6 lessons 

School children's lunches 6 lessons 

Sunday night suppers 8 lessons 

Breakfasts 5 lessons 

' Fireless cooker and paper-bag cookery 6 lessons 

Kosher cooking 10 lessons 

Italian cooking 10 lessons 

Infant feeding 5 lessons 

Meals for children from 2 to 6 years old 5 lessons 

Cooking for invalids and special diets 8 lessons 

Marketing 6 lessons 

Table setting and serving 4 lessons 

1 "Cooking in the Vocation School." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1915, No. 1. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 129 

In the state of Massachusetts short-unit courses for women 
have been conducted in thirty-nine different subjects, and the 
number is constantly being added to. 

The visiting nurse. There are signs that our educational 
and municipal authorities are beginning to look upon train- 
ing for right living and good homes as one of their legitimate 
functions. The school physician and visiting nurse are well 
known in a number of large cities. Service of this kind has 
also been extended to dentistry. Nursing was originally one 
of the household arts, but it has become specialized, and 
has left the home, together with a number of other trades and 
professions. There is no doubt that a visiting nurse can con- 
vey a much-needed type of instruction into those homes into 
which she is allowed to enter. The way to a parent's heart 
is usually through attention to the child, and the conserva- 
tion of human resources is just as much a function of govern- 
ment as is the conservation of natural resources. The work 
of the school nurse has been somewhat hampered by the 
general idea that her work is a species of charity. Many 
families are intensely proud, and bitterly resent the imputa- 
tion that they belong to the needy class. The plan by which 
visiting nurses are now being introduced on a self-support- 
ing basis by charging a small fee to the individual family 
will probably admit the nurse into a greater number of homes, 
and thus widely extend her usefulness. Human resources 
could be conserved in no more satisfactory manner than by 
adequate attention being paid to the rearing of children and 
their proper care during both health and sickness. 

The proper function of the visiting nurse is not to take the 
care of the patient out of the hands of the mother, but to 
give her such actual instruction as will enable her to look 
after the patient, and satisfactorily carry out the orders of 



130 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

the doctor. She has, however, perhaps a greater function 
than attention to the sick, and that is the giving of informa- 
tion which will prevent disease, and thus avoid the economic 
loss to the nation which disease and sickness always entail. 
The visiting housekeeper. The visiting nurse should al- 
ways be followed by the visiting housekeep^er. The work of 
the nurse has shown that in many cases the fundamental 
difficulty is general ignorance of the household arts, and here 
the work of the visiting housekeeper comes in. The nurse 
and the housekeeper should work in the closest cooperation. 
In many cases the visit of the nurse not only demonstrates 
the necessity for some instruction from the housekeeper, but 
also paves the way for her visit. Such housekeepers are al- 
ready at work in about twenty cities, including Chicago, 
Boston, Cambridge, Detroit, Cleveland, Brooklyn, New 
York, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and a number of 
others, but their employment is by no means general even in 
towns and cities, while in rural districts it is almost unknown. 
It is perhaps unfortunate that the majority of these officers 
are employed by charity organizations, and that at present 
they are largely untrained women. This work is as educa- 
tive and probably more far reaching than that done in the 
schools and should be carried on by trained women under the 
control of the educational authorities working in conjunc- 
tion with the sanitary authorities of the various cities, and 
under properly constituted legal warrant. The employment 
of the visiting housekeeper is a means of reaching many homes 
and families that cannot be reached in any other way. An- 
other woman's kitchen has been described as the most inac- 
cessible of places, and the success of the work will depend 
almost entirely upon the training and tact of the person em- 
ployed. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 131 

Qualifications. The woman who undertakes this work will 
require wide information along technical lines. She should 
have thoroughly grasped the theories and ideals that are 
included in a thorough study of the household arts, and 
above all she must acquire the faculty of eliminating all that 
is not essential to their application. She must be able to 
teach the ordinary household processes in the home of a busy 
woman in the simplest and most expeditious way. The 
average mother will not try to repeat anything which seemed 
complicated and difficult at the time it was first shown to her. 
Cooking and general housekeeping methods will have to be 
reduced to the simplest processes before they will be readily 
adaptable to this kind of work, and along these lines there 
is still opportunity for much experimentation. The course 
taken during the training of the visiting housekeeper must 
be an all-round course rather than one in which specializa- 
tion plays an important part. " She will have to know about 
the sanitary care of the house, the essentials in personal and 
sex hygiene, the proper care and feeding of the family, the 
wisest use of the family income, the easiest way to keep house- 
hold accounts, the right way to launder, how to market, and 
how to take care of the food when it is purchased, the choice 
and care of hygienic clothing, and the simplest schemes for 
attractive house decoration. She must know how to show a 
family the way to get as much fresh air as possible into 
a house, and how to make the family want fresh air and 
enjoy it. She must be ready to teach the proper use and 
care of the plumbing, and she will have to know whether 
the plumbing has been installed according to law, or 
whether there are defects which should be reported and 
remedied. While inspection will be a minor phase of her 
work, still she should be quick to notice any violations of 



132 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

the city sanitary code, and should see that legal standards 
are observed." ^ 

Work of the visiting housekeeper. The following extracts 
may be given from the annual reports of charitable organi- 
zations employing visiting housekeepers, as they indicate 
clearly the character of the work to be done.^ 

United Charities of Chicago Report, 1912. " Ignorance of 
homemaking on the part of both father and mother is 
becoming more and more apparent. Training the family 
in homemaking is fundamental in good case work. The 
best way is through the visiting housekeeper. She teaches 
the woman in her home how to cook with her crude 
utensils and simple food materials, and repeats her visits 
until the lesson is learned. She shows the mother how 
to buy wisely, to understand food values, the importance 
of cleanliness and fresh air, how to divide her income, 
how to interest and instruct her children, how to repair 
clothing, etc." 

Cambridge Associated Charities Report, 1913. " Our ambi- 
tion is to show clearly what constructive work one worker can 
do, that later we may find a public eager to employ four such 
workers, one in each district. Cooking lessons are only a 
part of this work. Hygiene, making over of old clothes and 
buying new ones wisely, proper care and discipline of children, 
marketing, value and use of different kitchen utensils, the 
care of fuel — all these need to be also included. It is igno- 
rance in all these practical matters that is the cause of ineflB- 
ciency in so many families." 

Detroit Associated Charities Report, 1913. " The visiting 
housekeeper work was started in December, 1912, because 

* Journal of Home Economics, February, 1914. 
»/6id., April, 1915. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 133 

of the extremely improvident and in some cases harmful way in 
which the grocery orders were used by the poor. The visiting 
housekeeper in eight months of her work covered by this 
report had made 383 calls, giving 174 lessons in 133 families. 
Besides doing the reconstructive work in the homes of the 
poor, teaching them to plan and prepare nourishing and pleas- 
ing food, to clean windows, floors, and woodwork, make and 
repair clothing, and even cane chairs, she has taught invalid 
cooking in the homes of the patients of the visiting nurses, 
and followed the babies' milk fund nurses with instruction to 
the mother as to the preparation of cereals, stewed fruits, 
etc., unknown arts to the foreign woman. She has also pre- 
pared well-balanced and economical menus and grocery or- 
ders for the use of the Associated Charities workers. She 
has also established classes where older girls in her families 
can be instructed in methods of food preparation adapted to 
their circumstances." 

New York City Report, 1914. " In the homes the good re- 
sults are shown in five definite ways: family expense sys- 
tematized, family dietary revised, dietary for children fur- 
nished, general standard of living decidedly raised and health 
of family improved. A real transformation which promises 
to be permanent has taken place in 799 homes through the 
instruction of our four visiting housekeepers, one sewing 
teacher, and two dietitians." 

Cincinnati Associated Charities Report, 1911. "It is the 
business of this specially trained young woman to go into 
the most disorderly and poorly kept homes, to try to bring 
order from chaos. She helps the mothers wash, scrub, and 
clean thoroughly, if they promise to keep things decent 
thereafter. She teaches the housewife how to cook plain 
foods in the most palatable manner, how to save, by cooking 



134 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

the same kind of food in various ways, and by utilizing the 
scraps ; cooks meals herself as object lessons ; goes marketing 
with the buyer of the family, teaches her how to buy so as 
to obtain the greatest nutritive value at the least cost ; plans 
the menu for each day in the week, substituting cereals, 
pure milk, etc., for black'coffee, leathery pancakes, and various 
indigestible or expensive foods frequently selected by house- 
wives who are ignorant of the art of domestic economy. 
She shows them how to make new garments or repair and 
make over old ones. She instructs them in the rules of hy- 
giene, and arouses whatever latent pride they may have in 
the appearance of their children and their homes. In many 
instances she has helped them bridge over the chasm be- 
tween dependency and self-support and has become the 
household divinity in several homes. She has conducted 
two neighborhood centers or classes where housewives come 
to learn cooking, sewing, and other household arts." 

The visiting housekeeper in rural districts. Unfortunately, 
at present this work is largely restricted to urban districts ; 
and we are apt to look at the large towns and cities and think 
they are the whole of the United States, while as a matter 
of fact the rural population form 53.7 per cent of the total 
population. The county representative or visiting farmer 
has been for several years an established institution and has 
proved his usefulness beyond question. Such agents are now 
located in more than one thousand counties out of the three 
thousand in the United States. Their work has proved that 
the place for an effective demonstration is on the farmer's 
own farm and not on some model farm backed with all 
the financial resources of the state. It is reasonable to sup- 
pose, in the case of the household arts, if the expert can obtain 
entrance into the individual home, and show how better work 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 135 

can be done there with the equipment the farmer's wife has, 
greater success will be achieved than if the demonstration is 
made with the supposedly ideal equipment of the schools. 

The crux of the whole problem is '* getting in," but the 
rural household demonstrator is really in a better position 
to obtain entrance into the home than the visiting housekeeper 
in the towns. The county agent has paved the way, and the 
social life in smaller communities is more intimate. The tomato 
clubs, canning clubs, sewing contests, etc., now so largely a 
feature of rural organizations, may all be utilized in obtaining 
such entrance. The housewife is naturally conservative and 
sensitive about her methods of managing the home, but there 
are few homes either rich or poor that do not need the advice 
of an expert. 

The work of the visiting housekeeper in rural districts will 
be different in many ways from that of the visiting house- 
keeper in towns and cities. It should be remembered that 
the problems of country women must be solved by country 
women. To appoint a woman to do this work who has not 
had actual experience of country needs and requirements is to 
court failure. Even in tenements there are often found con- 
veniences that are unknown in the farm home. The average 
farm woman has to work harder and with worse tools than 
the woman in the same social scale in the town or city. A 
young man in a class studying "country life and problems" 
in order to make this point clear gave a summary of his 
mother's daily routine of work at one particular season of 
the year as follows : ^ 

1. Rise at 4.30. 

2. Prepare breakfast while men milk the cows. 

1 "Studies in Rural Citizenship," Canadian Council of Agriculture, 
Winnipeg. 



136 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

3. Leave dishes, hurry to the cellar, get cold water from 
a distant well to chill milk, carry out sour and skimmed milk 
for pigs, calves, and chickens, wash milk vessels and carry 
out to sun. 

4. Hurry, feed poultry. 

5. Hurry, wash dishes. 

6. Hurry, gather fruit and vegetables for dinner. 

7. Prepare the same for table. 

8. On certain days churning, baking, washing, and iron- 
ing are done. 

9. Feed poultry. 

10. Prepare dinner. 

11. Wash dishes, sew or mend, put up fruit or vegetables. 

12. Get supper, wash dishes, look after poultry and milk, 
and work in the garden. 

13. Scrub the kitchen on certain evenings after the family 
has retired in order to prevent " tracking the floor." 

14. Retire about 10 p.m. 

Most city houses are provided with a heating system, 
running water, and electric or gas lighting. These are un- 
known in many country dwellings. House planning in towns, 
though still bad enough from the woman's point of view, is 
much better attended to than in the country. The barn and 
the drive shed is generally considered as of more importance 
than the house in which the wife has to work, and for these 
and other reasons the work of the visiting housekeeper in the 
rural districts will be as much concerned with household 
equipment as with household management. 

As an example of what may be done in this direction take 
the following : ^ 

The better farming section of the North Dakota Experi- 

* Journal of Home Economics, June-July, 1915. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 137 

ment Station is now employing a visiting housekeeper to go 
into the individual homes. Attention at present is concen- 
trated upon (1) effective arrangement of working equipment 
in the kitchen, with a view to saving time and energy; 

(2) encouragement and aid in purchasing the best labor- 
saving devices suited to the particular needs of the individual ; 

(3) better sanitation, including cisterns, water systems, and 
methods of sewage disposal. It is felt that many of the 
problems of the rural housekeeper will be solved by placing 
in the rural home many of the conveniences that are generally 
found in city homes. No better use can be made of the 
Federal grant provided under the Smith-Lever and Smith- 
Hughes bills than the training and support of visiting house- 
keepers for rural districts. 

Movable schools of household arts. The American Asso- 
ciation of Farmers' Institute Workers adopted the following 
resolution in 1906 : " That this association, appreciating the 
importance of providing more systematic instruction in agri- 
culture, hereby expresses its approval of the movable school 
of agriculture as an instrument for this purpose." The 
general adoption of such schools and the success they have 
achieved have led to the conclusion that the same methods 
applied to the household arts might meet with the same suc- 
cess. The movable school is instruction of a systematic 
character extending over a week or more, given by properly 
qualified teachers, at points variously distant from the cen- 
tral institute. Such schools are not suited for pioneer work, 
as before they can be successful the demand for them must be 
created. In creating this demand, the women's institutes 
can play an important part. A variation of the movable 
school idea is a series of weekly lectures or demonstrations, 
properly organized, such as are given by the Ontario Depart- 



138 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ment of Agriculture. As the time of the school is short, every 
means should be taken to make the best use of it. The gen- 
eral course is often too diffuse, and it is probable that the 
unit method applied here would accomplish much more. 
The classes should be kept small and the time should not be 
wasted on note taking, as the students who are likely to at- 
tend are not generally able to take notes, except in the form of 
straight dictation, and this is an inexcusable waste of time. 
A printed syllabus of each lecture with a list of references 
and other material that can be obtained by the students 
should be prepared in a form which can be kept for future use. 

The teacher, of course, must be fully qualified and in full 
sympathy with country life. The time of the instructor 
should not be wholly taken up with actual teaching. She 
should have part of each day for visiting in the homes. It is 
a debatable question which of two methods should be adopted 
in this extension teaching of the household arts, each student 
using the home kitchen for her equipment and the lessons 
being given in the form of demonstration lessons, or the 
actual cooking being done in class, much after the manner 
in which the subject is taught in the high school. If the 
equipment found in the school kitchen is similar to that found 
in the homes of the district, if the cooking can be done in 
family quantities, and if the class instruction be supplemented 
by supervised home practice later, the second method is 
probably the better. 

Many state universities carry on extension work of this 
character. Instructors are sent out for one or two weeks 
to a certain locality, passing at the end of the fixed period to 
a similar school in another locality. Some schools have one 
instructor only, and in these, as a rule, special attention is 
given to work on foods ; there are others provided with two 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 139 

or more instructors and in these, of course, much more can 
be done relating to general household management and 
clothing as well as to cooking. In the two-teacher schools 
it is usual to provide a class for girls of high school age as well 
as for housewives. The arrangements are usually made 
through some local organization, such as women's institutes, 
and this organization is asked to make itself responsible for 
a satisfactory attendance, a certain part of the expenses of 
running the school, and the equipment and accommodation 
for carrying on the class. 

These schools should make some attempt to keep in touch 
with the students after the conclusion of the classes. They 
should be made acquainted by the college with the newer 
developments. A follow-up system similar to that used in 
the best business houses might be adopted. When a stu- 
dent's interest has been properly aroused, she is not content 
with attending one school, but keeps up her reading and 
generally attends the school the following year. A super- 
vised reading or correspondence course should be provided 
between the school periods in order that interest may be kept 
up and an authority provided to which the student may ap- 
peal for help in solving various household problems that 
crop up during the year, and which could not be dealt with 
during the limited time the schools are in session. 

Short courses. Many young women and housekeepers 
who have attended movable schools have been induced to 
take the next step, and attend one of the numerous short 
courses. These courses are offered by various agricultural 
colleges, or agricultural departments of universities, and are 
generally held in the winter when the farmer's wife is relieved 
of much of the outside work which has to be done at other 
seasons. The movable school is a step in advance over the 



140 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

women's institutes and homemakers* conferences, and the 
short course, lasting on the average about twelve weeks, 
enables much more work to be done than the movable school. 
As a rule no entrance conditions are imposed, and all over 
eighteen years of age with a common school education are ad- 
mitted. The tendency now is to offer instruction extending 
over more than one season, and thus while each short course 
is complete in itself, attendance at several provide a well- 
rounded course in the whole subject. 

A course lasting for seven weeks is given at the University 
of Missouri. Its aim is stated to be that of ^^ supplying a 
type of training similar to that furnished to young men in 
the short-course in agriculture. With this end in view we 
have selected from our regular course those subjects which 
bear most directly on home life, and have adapted them to 
the needs of the short-course student. These have been 
supplemented by courses in agriculture in which the women 
might be interested, such as dairying, poultry raising, and 
home gardening." ^ 

Cornell University offers a three months' course open to 
all persons over eighteen years of age, dealing with the follow- 
ing subjects : foods ; home sanitation ; home management ; 
sewing and drafting ; and art in the home. As the farmer's 
wife is usually held largely responsible for the dairy, poultry 
and garden, courses are offered in these subjects. Special 
short technical courses in canning and preserving, laundry 
management, dressmaking and millinery are being developed 
in the hope that many girls may be able to engage in work of 
this character on a commercial basis without leaving the 
farm. 

* "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 38. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 141 

In addition to the work being done by the agricultural 
colleges and universities, many secondary schools such as the 
county agricultural high schools and the congressional dis- 
trict high schools are providing short courses in household arts 
for girls, as well as agricultural courses for boys, and as these 
schools develop, the necessity for such work in the colleges 
will probably diminish and they will be able to devote their 
attention to work of real college grade. 

Demonstration trains. In agricultural extension work 
much use has been made of the demonstration train, and in 
many of these the household arts have been well represented. 
It is not the mission of the train to give much definite formal 
instruction, owing to lack of time and other limitations, yet 
they have done much good, and aroused the desire for further 
information. Interest in them does not wane. At first they 
were looked upon as a rather absurd fad, but even in states 
where they have been in operation for ten years or more the 
enthusiasm and interest increase rather than diminish on 
each successive visit of the train. They reach a class of 
dwellers in rural districts that apparently can be reached by 
no other means. 

In many cases the great railways cooperate with the colleges 
and universities in running the trains. In 1912 four agri- 
cultural trains were taken over the lines of three railway 
companies at a small expense to the state of West Virginia. 
Lectures were given to 17,400 people, ninety-eight stops of 
one and a half hours each being made in twenty-nine 
counties. The routes, occupying twenty-two days, covered 
11,074 miles. The trains, consisting of three lecture coaches 
for men and one for women and children, together with a 
baggage car, were furnished free by the railway company. 

In North Carolina the farmers' institutes are running 



142 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

household arts trains with the idea of benefiting the woman 
on the farm. They are fitted simply with a gasoline stove 
and a few ordinary cooking utensils, and illustrated charts are 
hung along the sides of the car. The cars are run through 
the rural section, and fully qualified teachers give simple 
lectures on various problems of household management, 
special emphasis being laid on sanitation, hygiene, and the 
care of children. 

The Colorado Agricultural College in 1914, in cooperation 
with the colonization department of the Santa Fe railway 
lines in Colorado, ran a train of six cars and coaches, two of 
which were devoted to the household arts. One vestibuled 
coach was reserved for lecture work, and cooking demonstra- 
tions on " Variety in the preparation of cured meats and 
dairy products " were given by an instructor from the col- 
lege, assisted by a senior student. These were preceded by 
a talk on " Practical methods for curing meats on the farm." 
A space of forty-five feet was allowed for household arts 
exhibits, and this was occupied by cases each forty-eight 
inches long, by thirty inches wide, by six inches deep, and so 
mounted that the center of the case was on a level with the 
eye. These exhibits were intended to suggest methods of 
home improvement, and the condition of the average rural 
home in Colorado was the standard kept in mind. Owing to 
the prohibitive cost of models, suggestions for water supply, 
waste disposal, lighting, heating, and ice plants were not 
exhibited, and for these topics, suggestions were confined to 
a bulletin board announcement of descriptive literature 
dealing with those subjects. 

Many of the exhibits took the form of models made to 
scale. The exhibit included wall finishes and wall coverings, 
floor finishes and floor coverings, ventilating devices, and the 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 143 

metal weather strip, the proper equipment of the bed and 
bedroom, desirable and possible equipment for cleaning, 
miscellaneous devices and conveniences for the kitchen and 
work table, the housewife's tool chest, house-dresses for the 
housewife and garments for the small child, a set of pantry 
shelves properly equipped, and a bookshelf containing a ten 
dollar library, catalogues of which were available for free 
distribution.^ 

There are many districts, of course, that trains cannot 
yet reach, and for these other methods will have to be de- 
vised. For such communities, the Tuskegee Institute has 
fitted up a wagon known as the " Jessup " agricultural wagon 
drawn by two mules. While this wagon is principally de- 
signed to improve farming conditions, the household side is 
not entirely neglected. It should be possible to make use of 
this method in many isolated rural districts that cannot be 
reached by any other means. 

Women's institutes and homemakers' conferences. Other 
forms of extension work in household arts with which farmers' 
institutes, colleges, and other organizations are concerning 
themselves, are women's institutes and homemakers' confer- 
ences. The farmers' institute is a one, two, or three days' 
conference usually organized by the state college or depart- 
ment of agriculture. Ever since their initiation, women have 
attended the conferences, and in some cases special sessions 
have been organized for them. In many states and prov- 
inces separate institutes for women are now in active opera- 
tion. The institute meetings are not usually concerned with 
definite instruction. The time over which they extend 
is too short for this. Their purpose is largely inspirational, 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 38. 



144 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and their efforts are still needed in arousing interest and stim- 
ulating progress. When this interest is aroused, they can be 
followed by the movable school or the short course. There 
is a marked tendency now, however, to make even the two 
or three day institute the vehicle of some definite instruction. 

In connection with the farmers' institutes of Illinois there 
is a department of household science which is managed by 
its own officers. Related to the Illinois institutes is the Illi- 
nois Girls' State Fair School of Domestic Science. This is 
a two weeks' school, held in the women's building on the state 
fair grounds at Springfield. Each county sends one repre- 
sentative; a fee of ten dollars is charged for board; the 
students live in the building and the whole service is per- 
formed by them. The building accommodates 102 students. 
A lecture is given daily by a nurse, and two demonstration 
cookery lessons by the principal of the school. 

Women's institutes have been developed in the Province 
of Ontario to a much greater extent than elsewhere. There 
are 843 institutes in active operation throughout the Prov- 
ince and the number is constantly growing. In these in- 
stitutes there has long been a feeling that the work was not 
definite enough and was altogether too discursive. In order 
to remove this defect, series of ten or fifteen lessons in cook- 
ing, sewing, and home nursing are now being given. A fee of 
two dollars is charged for each course and twenty-five cents 
for a single lesson. These have proved so successful that 
they are being gradually extended, and it is hoped that at 
no distant date they will cover the whole of the province, 
and the idea is gradually spreading into the other provinces of 
the Dominion. Each class consists of at least twenty-five 
pupils. The provincial department of agriculture provides 
all the equipment except the tables, chairs, and a cookstove, 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 145 

and is also responsible for the salary of a well-qualified 
teacher.^ 

The farmers' week is an institution of many of the col- 
leges and universities, and in connection with these there 
has been organized, in some cases, " farmers' wives' week." 
Sometimes a conference is organized independently, and is 
known by various names, such as ''housekeepers' confer- 
ence," ''school for housekeepers," or "week's course in home 
economics." The University of Texas offers a one week's 
program. The University of Illinois offers a two weeks' 
program, and immediately after this, extension courses in 
cooking and sewing of four weeks in duration are provided, 
thus offering opportunity for more extended study. Women's 
institutes and homemakers' conferences have not concerned 
themselves entirely with woman's place in the home. They 
have considered also her place in the community. They 
have established libraries, placed pianos in halls and schools, 
introduced tomato and canning clubs, improved the schools, 
established rest rooms, and entered into many other forms 
of social service which have for their object the general im- 
provement of social conditions. 

Government bulletins. Mention should be made here of 
the publication of bulletins by government bureaus and pri- 
vate institutions. The United States government is prob- 
ably the largest publisher of educational literature in the 
world, and large numbers of bulletins and pamphlets are is- 
sued by colleges, universities, and experiment stations. It 
is estimated that the federal department of agriculture alone 
issues annually more than twenty-four million copies of 
bulletins and circulars, and many of these deal with home 

1 Annual Reports, "Women's Institutes." Ontario Department of 
Agriculture, Toronto. 

L 



146 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

conditions and the work of the farmer's wife. The list in- 
cludes bulletins on food and dietetics, the house and its con- 
veniences, management of the household, hygiene, and many 
other topics. The Bureau of Education also publishes many 
bulletins on the household arts with particular reference to 
their introduction into the public schools. The most com- 
plete and authoritative publications yet issued on the subject 
are the four bulletins on " Education for the Home," issued 
by that bureau, and with the creation of the new division of 
home economics the probability is that these publications 
will increase in number and value. Many colleges make the 
issue of bulletins a regular feature of their extension service. 
Editions of thirty thousand to fifty thousand have been 
circulated by the state college of Oklahoma, the University 
of Minnesota, and Cornell University. The Cornell reading 
course for farmers' wives now includes about thirty-five 
different titles. 

As these bulletins are generally limited in circulation to the 
state issuing them, their usefulness is somewhat restricted ; 
and it should be possible to make arrangements by which one 
state may reprint the bulletins issued by another. An 
arrangement of this character has been made in the case of 
the different manuals issued by the Ontario Education De- 
partment. There are no general statistics available to show 
the extent to which these bulletins are read. As a rule 
they are written in the simplest non-technical language, 
though, here and there, there is a tendency for the specialists 
who write them to forget the character of the audience to 
whom they are intended to appeal. When these bulletins 
are written in the form of a connected narrative they should 
conclude with a summary giving plain and concise directions 
for carrying out the principles involved. The bulletin offers 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 147 

a means of reaching many thousands of housewives that 
could not be otherwise approached. In order that they 
may be most effectively used they should not be distributed 
indiscriminately. They should be sent only where there is 
need, and the mailing lists of the colleges and departments 
should be revised frequently. 

Special agencies. There are other special agencies not 
usually considered as educational institutions, which are 
affording real practical assistance to the busy housewife 
in need of help. Interest in problems concerning the home 
has grown so rapidly that many of these agencies have been 
stimulated to use their natural outlets to give assistance. 
Many of these efforts are frankly advertising schemes, but 
none the less they are proving of real service. Amongst these 
agencies are newspapers, gas and electric light companies, 
department stores, and insurance companies. 

The press. There are many magazines devoted to woman's 
work in the home, but only a very small percentage of these 
reach the actual homemaker. There are few homes, how- 
ever, into which the daily newspaper does not enter, and the 
articles and recipes published by it are providing needed 
assistance. The influence of articles showing how house- 
wives must stretch the income to meet the increased ex- 
penditures for food by learning how to substitute foods of 
equal nutritive value for those which economic conditions 
make prohibitive, cannot fail to be good. A feature of 
most newspapers is the daily market quotations, and the 
housewife who makes a practice of budgeting her expendi- 
tures finds these of great assistance. Many schools in various 
parts of the country are making use of the columns of the 
newspapers in order to bring necessary and timely informa- 
tion to the notice of the housekeepers of the neighborhood. 



148 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Gas and electric companies. These companies send out 
demonstrators to give instruction in the use and care of the 
various ranges. They show how to operate and care for them 
and explain the dangers of explosion and shock. Literature, 
containing recipes and methods of economical use, is freely 
distributed. Demonstrations are given on the cooking of 
the various foodstuffs, and every effort is put forth to make 
the use of the various appliances satisfactory to the purchaser. 
Instruction is given in the use of the carpet sweeper, vacuum 
cleaner, electric washing machine, and other labor-saving 
devices. Model rooms are set up to exhibit proper lighting 
effects and the advantages of electric heating and other elec- 
tric appliances, and in the effort to make sales, much informa- 
tion is given. When the sale is made, the companies do not 
cease their efforts, but are ready at all times to send com- 
petent persons to solve difficulties that arise in actual 
household use. Many of these companies publish monthly 
magazines in which valuable information is given. 

Department stores. The department stores through their 
demonstrations, displays, and exhibits make a strong appeal 
for the attention and instruction of the housewife. A food 
exhibit does not only show the preparation and serving of 
food but by means of lectures and pamphlets gives the house- 
wife a very clear conception of the possibilities and uses of 
the food demonstrated. Model apartments are fitted up, 
and the persons in charge are ready to give advice and sug- 
gestions as to furnishings, decoration, lighting, etc. Series 
of lectures are given on " cooking," " thrift," *' budgeting," 
" dress," '* food and feeding," etc. Free classes are held 
in sewing, crocheting, and all kinds of fancy work, and the 
stores are constantly reaching out in new directions. It 
used to be the fashion to sneer at all these efforts and call 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 149 

them " advertising dodges " ; but it is coming to be recognized 
that though their primary purpose is to advertise the store 
and its products, yet by their means information is reaching 
the people, and that this information could hardly be given 
in any other way. 

Insurance companies. Some of these publish free maga- 
zines containing such articles as *' School Children and 
their Needs," '^ Johnnie's Shoes " (calling attention to the 
possibility of taking cold from wet feet), ''Just Flies " (calling 
attention to the danger of the fly as a transmitter of disease) . 
Booklets and circulars are distributed. One on milk advo- 
cates cleanliness in all stages of its preparation. In connec- 
tion with one company a visiting nurse is maintained who 
instructs the policy holders in the principles of sanitation 
and hygiene. A booklet on " The Child " gives brief infor- 
mation about the child from the period of incubation to the 
third year of its growth. Directions for living and sleeping 
in the open air are given in another booklet distributed by 
the company. The suggestions given are simple and in- 
expensive and calculated to help those who would like to use 
what they have at hand in making an outfit for outdoor life. 

Private organizations. In addition to the organizations 
mentioned, there are many others which have for their 
main object the improvement of home conditions. Space 
will not allow of their being mentioned here. In every state 
and province we find the department of education, the de- 
partment of agriculture, the agricultural college, and many 
private and semi-private associations all taking a hand in 
the business of training the housekeeper so that she will be 
able to improve home conditions. One of the most impor- 
tant of these associations is that known as the General Federa- 
tion of Women's Clubs. This is a union of the various local 



150 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

women's clubs throughout the United States in state and 
national federations. Over 8876 local clubs are directly 
affiliated with the national federation, and 7253 local clubs 
are affiliated with the state federations. The membership 
of the federated clubs is approximately seven hundred and 
fifty thousand. The organization was formed in 1889, but it 
was not till 1903 that household economics was made one of 
its important divisions. The federation at that time took 
over the work of the National Home Economics Association, 
which was organized in 1893. In 1904 a direct appeal was 
made to the federated clubs to promote in every possible way 
the introduction of the household arts into the public schools 
in their districts, and this has since been one of the leading 
planks in the club platform. In 1912 the following program 
was recommended : " the extension of the scope of home- 
economics work to include not only household activities, but 
also the related social and economic studies ; the use of the 
uniform term ' home economics ' instead of various other 
generic titles; cooperation in establishing social centers in 
urban, suburban, and rural communities ; assistance for rural 
women and aid in forming rural clubs ; the discouragement 
of lectures, associations, and exhibits that are commercial 
rather than educational ; the establishment of ideals as to 
food, clothing, and shelter; cooperation in securing college- 
entrance credits in home economics." ^ 

Many of the local clubs, while not neglecting what are called 
cultural subjects, are giving consideration to the actual prob- 
lems of the working housekeeper. The daily routine is being 
considered with reference to the best means of economizing 
time and labor. Discussions have been held on the Sunday 

1 "Education for the Home." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 37. 



CONTINUED EDUCATION IN HOUSEHOLD ARTS 151 

program, the routine of wash day, baking day, cleaning day, 
etc. All together, the work the federation is doing for 
nation-wide home betterment cannot be overestimated. 

This federation of women's clubs points the way to a much- 
needed next step, which is the federation of all the different 
associations for home betterment. *' While excellent work 
has been done by the different federal agencies in furnish- 
ing information and advice to the country on vocational edu- 
cation, the service has been very greatly hampered by a 
lack of funds. There has to some extent been a lack of close 
intimate cooperation between the different departments and 
bureaus in gathering and using the material. There seems 
to be more or less overlapping and duplication of effort not 
conducive to the best results." ^ 

While the above was written with reference to government 
agencies it is just as applicable, or perhaps more so, to the 
numerous associations working for the improvement of home 
conditions. There is already constituted a body which would 
be well able to coordinate these different associations, and 
that is the vocational education division of the Bureau of 
Education. This division has a branch for home economics 
with two specialists in charge. Increase these officers and 
make a substantial addition to the funds appropriated for 
the work, and this division would be able to so federate the 
different agencies that waste of time and money would be 
avoided, and the results accomplished would be much more 
commensurate with the efforts that are being put forth. 

^ Report of Commission on National Aid to Vocational Education, 
Washington. 



CHAPTER VI 

HOUSEHOLD ARTS INSTRUCTION IN PREVOCA- 
TIONAL, HOMEMAKING, AND TRADE SCHOOLS 

I. The prevocational school. 

II. The junior high school. 

III. Homemaking training in vocational schools. 

IV. Schools for homemakers. 

V. Homemaking courses in agricultural colleges. 
VI. Homemaking schools in Denmark. 
VII. School for training maids in Denmark. 

Until very recently school systems were organized and 
courses were drawn up on the assumption that the needs of 
the boy and the needs of the girl were identical and could 
be best met by a study of the same subjects, but the sub- 
jects were chosen, and their content and extent determined, 
almost entirely with reference to the supposed needs of the 
boy. This assumption dominated the entire system from 
the kindergarten to the university. It is now admitted 
that differentiation is necessary, but this differentiation in 
materials, means, and methods has not yet been satisfac- 
torily worked out. 

The prevocational school. Experiments are now being 
conducted with a type of school and class which is being 
called '' prevocational." These experiments are the re- 
sult of a public demand that the money spent on our educa- 
tional systems shall bring in more adequate returns in the 
way of effective lives and industrial ability, and also of the 

152 




'3 

H 
H 



"A 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 153 

conviction that the large sums spent on industrial education 
have not yet resulted in reaching the large majority of boys 
and girls who leave school either from choice or necessity 
at thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen years of age to enter into 
wage-earning pursuits. 

From the investigations conducted by Professor Edward 
L. Thorndike ^ the amount of elimination, based on the 
registration of the several grades, is as follows : grade four, 
ten per cent; grade five, sixteen per cent; grade six, 20.6 
per cent ; grade seven, twenty-six per cent ; grade eight, 32.5 
per cent. Only about a third of all the children graduate 
from the elementary school, according to the above estimates, 
but it is only fair to say that the accuracy of Dr. Thorndike's 
figures have been disputed by Dr. Ayres, who finds that the 
" general tendency of American school systems is to carry all 
of the children through the five grades, half of them to the 
final elementary grade and one in ten to the final year of 
the high school." ^ 

Even the conclusions of Dr. Ayres are serious enough, as 
they force us to conclude that a large number of children 
never reach the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. It is 
these pupils that the so-called prevocational school is in- 
tended to reach. 

The term prevocational describes a type of general edu- 
cation which it is hoped will lay a better foundation for 
real vocational courses than is at present laid by the tra- 
ditional school course. Like the term " manual training," 
the term prevocational is perhaps open to some objec- 
tion, but it is not often possible to find a word immediately 

1 The "Elimination of Pupils from School." United States Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin, 1907, No. 4. 

2_ Ayres, Leonard P., Laggards in our Schools. 



154 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

that will accurately describe the newer movements in edu- 
cation, and by the time such a word has been found, the 
original word has become so intrenched in popular usage 
that all attempts to dislodge it fail. The objection raised 
to this term is that it is likely to give the public the idea 
that the schools to which it is applied are professing to do 
what they really are not doing. Many are likely to think 
that it means specific preparation for a definite vocation, 
when in reality it does not of necessity mean anything of 
the kind. A pre vocational course is one which really pre- 
pares for vocational courses rather than for an actual vo- 
cation, and this distinction should be borne in mind. It 
should be remembered also that many of the children who 
take prevocational courses will get no other form of in- 
dustrial or vocational training and that to these, prevo- 
cational courses should be vocational. 

Purpose, organization, and method. These are well de- 
scribed in a circular issued by the Seattle board of educa- 
tion. From that circular the following is quoted : ^ 

" The establishment of industrial or prevocational courses 
of study in several of the elementary schools was authorized 
by the board of directors several years ago. The classes 
organized in these new courses have been very successful. 
Reports received indicate that pupils have shown a greatly 
increased interest in school, and have done work of a higher 
rank than ever before. 

" These courses of study relate much more to the industries 
for the boys and to household arts for the girls than the 
ordinary school course. Many parents desire to give their 
children the advantage of taking a course of study that 
provides for a training in these useful occupations, and a 

* Leavitt and Brown, Prevocational Education in the Public Schools, 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 155 

study of their economic and efficient application in life. 
They believe that such a course will furnish a much more 
satisfactory preparation for the duties of life than that af- 
forded by the regular academic course. It will also furnish 
an adequate preparation for a higher education. 

" In every school there are some boys and girls who prefer 
studies that employ their hands, and who have greater apti- 
tude in such studies than their fellows. They advance in 
their development by what they do, rather than by what 
they hear. They are practical-minded. Many such chil- 
dren drop out of school as soon as the law permits, not 
from lack of ability, but because the school fails to fit its pro- 
cedure to their particular needs. The establishment of 
these classes in industrial arts is an attempt to fit the school 
to the wants of this class of pupils. 

" These new courses of study also provide a more practical 
prevocational training for a class of boys and girls in the 
public schools, who will receive the greatest benefit from in- 
struction which will the soonest prepare them for training 
in a definite vocation. Such industrial classes are not sub- 
stitutes for a trade school, but for those who desire it they 
will lead more quickly and surely to apprenticeship in busi- 
ness or trade than the regular classes, while those pupils 
who desire to continue their study either in the high school 
or special schools are prepared to do so. 

"The school day is five hours, which is the same as for the 
other grade-school classes. Three hours of this time are 
spent upon the ordinary school studies, modified to suit 
the end aimed at in this plan, and two hours are devoted 
to the industrial and household arts — shop work and 
mechanical drawing for the boys; cookery, sewing, design 
and drawing for the girls. Separate classes are provided 



156 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

for boys and girls because of the difference between their 
courses. 

"The industrial work for girls will consist of plain sewing, 
repairing, garment cutting and fitting ; the study of house- 
hold linens, and other fabrics used in the home ; the use of 
the sewing machine; class talks and discussions regarding 
clothing, its style, costs, and methods of manufacture, the 
sweatshop, trades and vocations for women; hygiene and 
home sanitation. There will also be the study of plain 
cooking, properties of foods, economy, table service, sanita- 
tion, laundry work, care of the home, etc. Class talks upon 
related topics of home life and its obligations, domestic serv- 
ice, income and expenditure will be a feature of this work. 

"The rank of these courses will correspond to the seventh 
and eighth grades of the usual school course, and will re- 
quire two years for completion. At the end of the two 
years pupils completing this work, who choose to continue 
their school studies, may enter the high school upon an 
equal footing with pupils entering from the regular academic 
courses. 

" This course is open to any boy or girl thirteen years of 
age or over, who has completed the equivalent of the present 
sixth grade, provided that the parent or guardian makes a 
written request that the pupil take the industrial course 
and the principal of the school last attended by the pupil 
approves the request. The number of pupils in each in- 
dustrial class is limited to twenty-four boys or twenty-four 
girls." 

Prevocational classes in Boston public schools. It will now 
be pertinent to describe one or two typical experiments that 
have been conducted along the line of prevocational classes. 
Such classes are now (1914-15) being conducted in twenty-two 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 157 

Boston public schools. The Washington Allston school was 
established in 1909, and as it has been in successful operation 
since that date it may be regarded as something more than 
an experiment. Alterations were made in the annex of the 
school, and the schoolhouse department supplied an equip- 
ment to enable the pupils to finish and furnish a working- 
man's home, and then to carry on the common household 
activities. The purpose of the work is to teach the pupils 
how to design and construct the material part of the home, 
and then to study how the best home life is made. 

The schoolhouse department did all the heavy work. It 
cut out one partition and built in another, put in four win- 
dows and laid new floors in two rooms, installed a kitchen 
sink, four laundry tubs, a coal range with hot water, and 
built three closets. It then supplied lumber, burlap, and 
painters' supplies, sewing material, and the ordinary house- 
hold kitchen equipment. Work was then begun with this 
new material. The walls were painted, the floors finished 
and dressed, and the furniture for five rooms was made by 
the boys. The work of the girls consisted of sewing the 
burlap used on the walls of two rooms, making the sheets, 
pillow cases, and coverings for the beds, making curtains, 
dishcloths, towels, and dusters. They also hemmed table- 
cloths and napkins, and worked monograms on them. 

The housekeeping activities are carried on in a very 
practical way. The gu"ls cook, wash, clean, iron, dust, 
decorate, and arrange, and all the while think about what 
they are doing and have a reason for everything they do. 
In addition to this work in housekeeping much attention 
is paid to cookery and serving meals. The girls make tables 
of costs of staple articles. They preserve fruit in large 
quantities with the cost estimated. They plan the cooking 



158 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and serving of meals for from six to twenty people, and work 
out the exact cost of each meal. The meals and lunches 
are sold to the teachers in the school. The following is an 
illustration of a table of equivalents as worked out by the 
pupils : 

Milk eight cents per quart = two cents per cup. 

Corn meal four cents per pound = one cent per cup. 

Granulated sugar six cents per pound = three cents per cup. 

Chocolate forty cents per pound = two and a half cents per square. 

Cocoa twenty cents per half pound = one quarter cent per teaspoon- 
ful. 

Rolled oats ten cents per package = one cent per cup. 

Baking powder 45 cents per pound = one quarter cent per tea- 
spoonful. 

A sample lunch for six persons with the cost worked out is 
as follows : 

Creamed Salmon : 

1 can salmon $0.22 

1 pint milk at 8^ per quart 04 

2 tablespoonfuls butter at 40^ per pound 02^ 

Mashed Potatoes : 

1 quart potatoes at 96^ per bushel 03 

One half cup of milk at 8?f per quart 01 

3 tablespoonfuls butter at 40 ji per pound 03f 

Baking Powder Biscuits : 

3 cups flour at 4^ per pound 03 

6 teaspoonfuls baking powder at 42^ per pound 03 

2 tablespoonfuls lard at ISjzf per pound Olf 

1 pound of butter at 40 j^ per pound 05 

1| cups of milk at 8 ^ per, quart 02^ 

Tapioca Cream : 

2| tablespoonfuls tapioca at lOjif per package 01| 

3 cups of milk at 8^ per quart 06 

2 eggs at SQi per dozen 06 

i cup of sugar at Q<fi per pound 01^ 

1| teaspoonfuls vanilla at 25^ per bottle 02$ 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 159 

Cocoa : 

3 tablespoonfuls cocoa at 20i per can $0.01§ 

\ cup sugar at Qi P^r pound OOf 

2 cups milk at 8^ per quart 04 

Total cost $0.72f 

The sewing taken in this school is also of a very practical 
character. It is along shop lines, and the sewing machine 
is used to a great extent. The girls make simple wash 
dresses and undergarments for themselves. They have 
made children's flannel petticoats, nightdresses, aprons, 
sash curtains, and all kinds of household articles. The arti- 
cles are sold for the actual cost of the materials, and the 
parents are most eager to purchase.^ It must not be thought 
that all the time is devoted to this pre vocational work. 
Due attention is paid to what are called the academic sub- 
jects. 

Division of time. The usual school day is five hours, but, 
with the greater variety offered by this industrial work, 
no undue strain would be felt by the pupils if this were 
increased by at least one hour. On the basis of the six-hour 
day the division of time in the prevocational schools would 
be about as follows : 

First Year, Corresponding to Grade Seven op the Elemen- 
tary Schools 

MiN. PER Week 
Sewing — hand and machine, simple garment making, . . . 225 

Plain cooking and general housework 450 

Design and drawing 225 

Practical mathematics 225 

English literature and composition 225 

Geography 225 

Opening exercises, music, physical study, etc 225 

1800 

* Annual Reports of Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, 1910-15. 



160 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Second Yeak, Corresponding to Grade Eight of the Elemen- 
tary School 

MiN. Per Week 
Sewing — hand and machine, garments, embroidery, tex- 
tiles 225 

Cooking (plain, fancy, invalid), housekeeping 450 

Design 225 

Practical mathematics 225 

English literature and composition 225 

History and civics 225 

Opening exercises, music, hygiene, and study 225 

18001 

It thus will be seen that a course of this character pays a 
fair amount of attention to the traditional academic studies, 
and lays an adequate foundation for entrance into trade 
and vocational schools. With reference to the influence of 
this work on academic studies the following statement is 
illuminating : " A surprising by-product of this pre vocational 
instruction is improved academic results. These may be 
due to more definite aims and increased emphasis on es- 
sential phases of the regular studies. But the general 
opinion of teachers indicates that the classes have gained 
academically by the introduction of prevocational tasks 
and studies."^ 

The North Bennett Street Industrial School, Boston. This 
is a privately supported institution located in a congested 
tenement district of the city. Its work is very largely social, 
and early in its career the necessity for vocational education 
was discovered. In September, 1907, a class of fifty girls 
was received from one of the public schools of the city for 
ten hours a week of industrial training. Since that time 
various classes have been held in cooperation with the 

1 Report on Vocational Education in Chicago. City Club of Chicago. 
^ Report of Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, 1914. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 161 

public school board. The course of study for the pre vo- 
cational classes now held is as follows : ^ , 

First Year 

Sewing — hand and machine, simple garment making, study 

of materials. 6 hours 

Cooking and housekeeping 3 hours 

Design 1 hour 

Arithmetic 4 hours 

Geography and history 3 hours 

Literature, composition, and spelling 4| hours 

Gymnastics and hygiene 2| hours 

Total 231 hours 

Second Year 

Sewing — ^hand and machine, garment making, embroid- 
ery, and textiles 6 hours 

Cooking and housekeeping 3 hours 

Design 1 hour 

Arithmetic 4 hours 

Business conditions and methods 1^ hours 

Literature and composition 4^ hours 

Civics 1^ hours 

Hygiene, sanitation, and exercises 2j hours 

Total 23f hours 

Fifteen minutes allowed for daily recess. 

The requirements of the girls determine the character of 
the sewing course. A study of materials is made and the 
girls select their own; each girl keeps an account of the 
cost, amount of material required, and time taken for each 
garment. In cookery, recipes for family amounts are used. 
The arithmetic is correlated with wage-earning under dif- 
ferent conditions, calculating amounts and costs of materials, 
household and personal expenses, carpeting and papering, 
and other household problems. Lunches are served to a 
group of eight teachers in the neighborhood, and orders are 

1 Report of North Bennett Street Industrial School, 1912. 

M 



162 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

taken and filled for needlework, etc. Those who success- 
fully complete this course are admitted to the Boston Trade 
School for girls with advanced standing. This prevocational 
plan is almost revolutionary in character and departs so 
far from the stereotyped organization of traditional edu- 
cational systems that it could hardly be expected that it 
should have been received with universal favor. 

Advantages and Disadvantages. The report of the super- 
intendent of schools of the city of New York lists the ad- 
vantages and disadvantages. Two advantages are given 
and five disadvantages. This prevocational training is 
now on trial in six or seven schools in New York. The idea 
is to give the children at the close of the sixth year of their 
school life a choice between the regular course, which leads 
to the high school, a commercial course leading directly to 
business, and a trade course in which the young students 
'* try their hands '' at four or five different trades during the 
seventh and eighth grades. 

In most of these schools the school day consists of six 
hours and is divided according to what is known as the 
'' Gary " plan. This provides that there shall be two school 
units in each school building. While the classes of one unit 
are in the classroom taking " more or less completely " the 
ordinary school work the classes of the other unit are engaged 
in play, athletics, industrial work, or general exercises in 
the assembly room. The report continues : " It is too early 
yet to pass judgment upon this plan of school work. It 
should, and will, have a fair trial. Its efficiency, however, 
must be determined not by its advocates, but by impartial 
judges after careful investigation and scientific testing. The 
ultimate test will be whether the ordinary school studies, 
which all civilized people grant are essential, reading, gram- 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 163 

mar, arithmetic, history, geography, drawing, penmanship, 
spelling, are helped or hindered by the new plan." 

All will not agree with the *' ultimate test " proposed. It 
is quite possible that the new plan may have other objects 
in view than the helping or hindering of the "ordinary 
school studies." This expresses perhaps the common idea 
of some educationists that the purpose of the school is to 
teach reading, grammar, etc., but as a matter of fact the 
school exists for no such purpose. The sole justification for 
the expenditure of public money on the schools is that they 
may so train the pupils that they will be good citizens, and 
this purpose cannot be accomplished without adequate at- 
tention being paid to the means by which the future citizen 
is to earn his or her livelihood. 

The objections urged against the prevocational plan in 
the report above referred to are somewhat as follows : 

1. Experience has not shown that vocational work leads 
children to remain longer in school than does the regular 
work. 

2. The plan will not reach the great majority of those 
children who leave school as soon as the law permits — at 
the close of their fourteenth year of age. 

3. Children of less than fourteen years of age are neither 
mature nor experienced enough to make intelligent choice 
of subjects. 

4. The training of the intellectual, moral, and physical 
powers is secured only in small part by the use of tools. It 
comes chiefly through the acquisition of knowledge, and 
the reactions of the mind upon the knowledge acquired. 

5. The general introduction of prevocational training 
in the seventh and eighth years will probably result 
in not only a deterioration in all the different kinds of 



164 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

school work, but also In the deterioration of training for 
efficiency. 

The truth of the first objection may be very seriously 
questioned. In the first place the plan has not been at work 
long enough to allow of dogmatism, but the principle of in- 
terest which should obtain in all subjects of instruction 
would lead to the conclusion that to a certain type of boy 
and girl mind, training through industrial occupations 
makes a stronger appeal than the " ordinary studies." Pre- 
vocational pupils are generally concrete-minded. Its great- 
est advocates do not contend that this kind of training is 
best for all, but that it is best for some. 

Many teachers and educational authorities still believe 
that intellectual development can only be secured through 
the performance of tasks which are disagreeable. In some 
vocational classes, pupils have been known to attend school 
during the whole of the summer holidays for seven and a 
half hours each day, and these were pupils to whom school 
was previously distasteful. When many such cases are 
found, is it not reasonable to suppose that school life will be 
prolonged ? 

In an investigation conducted under the auspices of the 
City Club of Chicago 205 boys in the night schools of the 
city were asked if they could have stayed in school had 
they cared to do so. More than ninety per cent said they 
had not left school because of the necessity of going to work, 
but because they were tired of school. The Massachusetts 
Commission of 1906 reported those w^ho left school from 
necessity to be 2450 out of 5459, which means that over fifty- 
five per cent left school from choice.^ " The purpose of giv- 
ing prevocational education is always dual. It prolongs the 

* Report on Vocational Education in Chicago. City Club of Chicago. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 165 

school life of the children, and it also fits them somewhat 
better to meet the conditions of occupational life, provided 
they enter such life, as they commonly do, before seventeen 
or eighteen years of age." ^ 

The second objection is not well taken. If this prevo- 
cational education is given during the last two years of the 
elementary school course, it certainly has the effect of reach- 
ing those who leave school as soon as the law permits, and 
this is precisely one of the objects the training was intro- 
duced to accomplish. Many of those who now leave school 
at fourteen years of age have not the slightest idea of the 
work for which they are fitted. They have hazy notions, 
but no experience on which to base an opinion. This 
training, by giving them an opportunity, not to specialize, 
but to try several kinds of work, will probably open the 
way to a more sane choice of a suitable occupation. Many 
of the pupils may discover that they are not suited for any 
of the vocations offered, and this result would probably be 
no less beneficial. 

In a report on vocational training in Chicago by the City 
Club of that city the following recommendations are made : ^ 

1. An industrial course giving one third of the time to 
shop work and drawing for boys, and to household arts and 
design for the girls, the remainder of the time being devoted 
to academic studies. Thirty hours (sixty min.) a week. 

2. A commercial course giving one third of the time to 
bookkeeping, business arithmetic, typewriting, and hand- 
work, and the remainder of the time to related academic 
studies. Thirty hours (sixty min.) per week. 

These are intended to be differentiated courses of study 

1 Leavitt and Brown, Prevocational Education in Public Schools. 

' Report on Vocational Education in Chicago. City Club of Chicago. 



166 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

for grades seven and eight, and it is recommended that 
they admit to any course now offered in the high schools. 
If recommendations of this character are carried out, the 
resulting schools and classes will surely reach that large 
number who leave school at fourteen years of age. It will, 
of course, be contended that specialization at too early an 
age is being advocated, but for a large percentage of chil- 
dren " fate decrees specialization without preparation at 
the end of the compulsory school term." Plans of the pre- 
vocational type " would substitute the specialization of 
school for the specialization of industry.'^ 

It is further contended that children of less than four- 
teen years of age are not competent to make a choice of 
either trade or subject. This is true to a certain extent, 
but the prevocational plan does not require the children to 
make choice. Most prevocational classes require each 
pupil to take all the subjects offered — academic as well as 
industrial — and specialization is not allowed in any one of 
them for any part of the two-year course. 

The fourth objection, that the training of the mind comes 
through the acquisition of knowledge and the reaction of 
the mind upon the knowledge acquired, applies only to the 
book-minded student, but the hand-minded or concrete 
minded student cannot acquire knowledge in this way, and 
the large number previously referred to as leaving school 
because they were tired of it very probably belong to this 
class. The agitation for industrial education of all kinds, 
and the present demand for prevocational training, is a pro- 
test against the argument that knowledge can be acquired 
only from books, and the intelligent use of tools whether of 
the shop or the household, is now generally admitted to be 
educational. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 167 

The argument that prevocational training will result in a 
general deterioration of the usual school subjects is not 
borne out by the facts. Prevocational training makes pos- 
sible a longer school day, and the experience of the Boston 
schools that prevocational classes have brought about an 
improvement in the academic studies shows that this fear 
is unwarranted. Considering the fact that the large majority 
of the pupils leave school at fourteen or younger, to enter 
into some form of industrial occupation, generally non- 
educational, the establishment of prevocational classes is 
probably one of the most promising efforts that has yet been 
made to give some differentiated form of training that will 
definitely equip either for the home or industry. The suc- 
cess that schools and classes of this type have met with war- 
rants their general extension to the educational system of 
every town and city. 

The junior high school. Another objection to the term 
" prevocational " is that it is entirely unnecessary, and 
that all that such schools profess to accomplish can be 
done more readily and with greater efficiency in the so- 
called " Junior High School " or " Intermediate '' school 
which is being established in great numbers throughout the 
country. These schools are an attempt to make an equal 
division of the twelve years of general education between the 
elementary and the secondary schools. The movement 
seems to have been initiated by E. W. Lyttle, who at the 
National Education Association in 1905 argued that " sec- 
ondary education should begin as soon as the elementary 
pupil has acquired the tools with which he may gain a 
higher education." 

The eight-four plan. The present distribution, of eight 
years to the elementary school and four years to the sec- 



168 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ondary school, is generally accepted as an accident, and 
finds no justification in comparative education, psychology, 
or the logical demands of local conditions. There is con- 
siderable dissatisfaction with the work of the seventh and 
eighth grades. It is charged that there is a lack of real 
progress in these grades, and that the large mortality of 
pupils in the first year of the high school is due, not to the 
arbitrary course or to the poor teaching in the upper school ; 
but, rather, to the fact that the preparatory school has 
not done its full duty. 

Break between elementary and secondary schools. The 
break now comes for a great many children about the time 
that the compulsory education law ceases to hold them in 
school, and for the majority at the time when the changes 
of adolescence are demanding satisfaction. Differentiated 
courses must be introduced here or the children leave school. 
Children of this age differ very much in ability, interests, 
and ambitions, and the boast of democracy that it offers 
equal opportunities to all is not fulfilled unless it offers to 
the pupils what is best calculated to advance them in this 
particular stage of their development. In offering facilities 
for this differentiation the junior high school has great 
possibilities. 

Definition. The junior high school has been defined 
*' as an organization of grades seven and eight, or seven to 
nine, to provide by various means for individual differences, 
especially by an earlier introduction of prevocational work, 
and of subjects usually taught in the high school." If 
schools of this type are generally established and they live 
up to their definition, the problem of the industrial educa- 
tion of girls from thirteen to fifteen or sixteen will be very 
largely solved and separate prevocational schools will not 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 169 

be necessary. The high school has a certain reputation and 
prestige among the people, and the junior high school will 
share this prestige, while the prevocational school will bear 
for some time the suspicion that it is a school for the " work- 
ing classes." 

Advantages of the junior high school. Four major claims 
are made for the junior high school. First that it makes 
much better provision for the individual differences of 
pupils ; second, that it makes much easier the transition to 
the high school and renders the change less abrupt; third, 
that it materially lessens the number of pupils eliminated 
from the school system; and fourth, that it furnishes the 
opportunity for various reforms in the curriculum, which 
are difficult to obtain by the present arrangement. Records 
from junior high schools that have been established go to 
show that the above claims are not unwarranted. To take 
pupils from grades seven, eight, and nine, for reasons of 
economy or congestion, and house them in a separate build- 
ing while retaining the present curriculum, does not merit 
being called a junior high school. 

Adaptability to vocational training. It is now generally 
admitted that prevocational work should begin in the 
seventh grade, strictly vocational work being deferred until 
the ninth or tenth grade. The junior high school would thus 
provide a proper administrative unit for the effective con- 
duct of prevocational work. Such schools will serve as try- 
out schools. In the three grades constituting the junior 
high school, cultural, informational, and prevocational in- 
struction may be so combined as to enable pupils to make 
intelligent choice with reference to more advanced general 
and vocational courses. The work of vocational schools can 
properly begin here. These prevocational courses should 



170 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

be so organized as to furnish, to pupils who desire them, op- 
portunities to acquire definite knowledge of the most im- 
portant industrial, commercial, and household arts. The 
report of the Evansville Vocational Survey says, " The 
training in each of the several manual arts should be varied 
in kind and grade, but should for each line of work be suf- 
ficient in amount and be continued over a period sufficiently 
protracted to have real disciplinary value and to provide 
an experience for each pupil upon the basis of which an 
intelligent selection of a vocation may be made with ref- 
erence to the personal qualifications of the child/' ^ 

The junior high school is probably the greatest advance 
that has been made in recent years in educational organ- 
ization towards breaking down the artificial distinction 
between " liberal " and " cultural " and in offering facilities 
for the adequate vocational training of girls. 

Homemaking training in vocational schools. The prob- 
lem here is a somewhat complicated one, as these schools 
are generally established for the main purpose of giving im- 
mediate wage-earning capacity, and many educators ques- 
tion the advisability of including homemaking training in 
the curricula of such schools. It is contended that the aim 
of the vocational school is to train wage-earners for self- 
support, and that in the time available it is not possible to 
include homemaking without sacrificing the wage-earning 
ability and sending out the pupil less efficiently prepared 
for her work. It is also contended by some that sufficient 
time is given to the household arts in the elementary and 
secondary schools and for this reason it is not necessary to 
take up time which should be spent on direct wage-earning 
courses. 

1 Indiana Survey Series, No. 4. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 171 

It must be admitted that there is considerable force in 
the first of these objections. The economic condition of 
many of the pupils attending the trade or vocational schools 
is such that they must enter upon wage-earning at the earliest 
possible moment. In some of the intensive trade schools 
the course varies from one year to three months. If the 
attempt were made in such schools to give in this short time 
homemaking courses, and also to train a girl to succeed in 
any trade that would offer a living wage and any opportu- 
nity for promotion, both would fail. But fortunately home 
training for women touches trade training at many points. 
It is the general complaint of employers that their workers 
lack initiative, stability, and power of concentration, and 
these are qualities which should be developed both in trade 
training and training for the home. If the home condi- 
tions of every pupil admitted are known, much can be done 
to improve these conditions by visitation, while the girl is 
in attendance at the school, and by follow-up work after 
she has entered the industry. Much can also be done in 
connection with the work in health and hygiene which 
should form part of the training in all trade schools. 

The success of the worker, particularly the girl worker, 
depends so much on her physical condition and the state of 
her health that great attention to these subjects is warranted. 

The Manhattan Trade School for Girls. The Manhattan 
Trade School for Girls may be regarded as the pioneer of 
the modern trade schools for girls. Much attention is paid 
to the physical life of each student, her family history, and 
the kind of home life she leads. Each girl is watched, and 
those who need it are frequently examined, and the proper 
treatments of exercise, diet, and living are prescribed. A 
course in lunch room cookery is closely connected with this 



172 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

health course. In this course no elaborate equipment is 
used, but that found in the homes of the pupils is taken as 
the standard. Each group of students has training in 
cooking daily for a number of weeks, and intense concen- 
tration, economy of time, and the feeling of responsibility 
which each student has, assists in making the best use of 
the time available. In groups they cook for the lunch 
room, set the table, serve, and sell the lunch, and do all the 
required cleaning up afterwards. Inexpensive breakfasts 
are also prepared and served. Close connection is also made 
between the academic work of the school and home training. 
The plan of work is as follows : 

1. Twenty girls are chosen at one time. These work in 
two groups of ten each, and for six weeks have daily one- 
hour lessons. This gives them thirty lessons, which is about 
one half that offered by the public school in a year, but 
being concentrated into daily work and practical use of the 
lunch room, it is of equal, if not greater, efficiency. 

2. The students set the tables, cook a definite part of the 
lunch, dish the articles, prepare the counters, sell the various 
dishes, keep and report sales, and clear the counters after- 
wards. The groups alternate, in order that preparing food, 
watching its progress, and taking it from the stove may be 
done by all with a minimum loss of time from their trade 
instruction. 

3. The selection of the girls to take the course is made 
from (a) those who can remain long enough in the school 
to combine trade training with the simple cooking course ; 

(b) those who have such poor health that a knowledge of 
what to eat and how to cook it is the first consideration ; and 

(c) those who are already little housekeepers in their homes, 
as their mothers are incapacitated or dead. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 173 

The closest connection is maintained between the academic 
and the practical. In the academic work in arithmetic, for 
example, such problems are used as the keeping of accounts, 
use of wages, estimates for the economical buying of food 
and clothing, saving of money, making out of bills, checks, 
and receipts, and buying and selling in general. These and 
similar problems are just as essential in developing an in- 
telligent home life as they are in training for ability in in- 
dustry. It thus will be seen, that even in the short course 
trade school much attention can be given to this most es- 
sential feature in the education of the girl. Such an intro- 
duction to the subject has the further advantage of so 
interesting the girl that she may be induced to make a more 
extended study of the subject after she has actually entered 
industry. 

In view of the facts that in the elementary schools the 
course is only given in the seventh and eighth grades, and 
that a large number of pupils leave before those grades are 
reached, and that even when the subject is taken, the time 
spent is only about one and a half hours per week, i.e., in 
a year of forty weeks only about sixty hours can be de- 
voted to this subject, and that even this limited time 
is further broken into by various holidays and absences, it 
cannot be seriously contended that adequate time is de- 
voted to the subject in the public schools. 

Milwaukee School of Trade for Girls. In cities where the 
wage-earning problem is less acute than it is in New York, 
girls enter trade schools with a higher academic standing and 
can stay longer, thus allowing more time for the study of 
the household arts, which perhaps have not such an im- 
mediate wage-earning value. The Milwaukee Public School 
of Trades for Girls is an example of a school which offers a 



174 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

two years' course. Girls of fourteen years of age are ad- 
mitted to the school, and must be able to read and write in 
English and perform the fundamental operations of arith- 
metic. Graduates from the eighth grade of the public 
schools are admitted without examination, and are given 
preference over applicants who have not had such prepa- 
ration. Instruction is given in dressmaking and millinery, 
but all students are required to take a certain amount of 
academic work supplementary to this, and household arts 
instruction in addition. The school year consists of eleven 
months and the ordinary school week of twenty-live or 
twenty-seven and one half hours is increased to thirty-five 
hours. Three fifths of the time is spent in actual shop practice 
and the remaining two fifths in the supplementary work 
required. 

A complete course is given in the household arts, which is 
divided into cookery, lunch room work, serving, and general 
housekeeping. The purpose of this course is said to be ^ 
" to stimulate an interest in wholesome economical food ; 
to teach the food principles ; to teach principles of planning, 
cooking, and serving in a practical manner; to raise the 
standard of living ; to give a general knowledge of house- 
keeping; to develop responsibility, punctuality, cleanliness 
of person, and neatness in work; to make a better home- 
maker out of a trade worker." The lunch room course is 
planned to give practical work in following recipes ; planning 
of menus; buying and cost of materials; preparation of 
foods in large and small amounts ; practice in the prepara- 
tion of bread, cakes, cereals, cheese, desserts, eggs, entrees, 
fish, meat, pastry, poultry, preserves, salads, sauces, soups, 
and vegetables. 

^ Milwaukee Public School of Trades for Girls.-Prospectus, 1911-12. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 175 

The serving includes attractive table setting ; table deco- 
ration for special purposes ; dainty serving of lunch to large 
and small numbers ; practice in home and cafeteria serving. 
The general housework includes the usual household ac- 
tivities, and the care of all the rooms in the house. Eve- 
ning classes are also held in which the same course is given. 
Part-time classes are held in addition. 

Shoreditch Trade School for Girls} The Shoreditch Trade 
School (London, England) is a type which gives a two-year 
trade course, in which adequate provision is made for train- 
ing in household arts. The school is open six and a half 
hours a day for five days in the week, and for forty-one 
weeks in the year. About two thirds of the time is devoted 
to general instruction, and the remaining third to general 
education usually evolved from the actual requirements of 
the trade chosen. The school is intended for girls who 
leave the elementary school at fourteen years of age. The 
household arts instruction differs in many respects from the 
plan generally followed. The course is compulsory and is 
intended to give the girls a thorough knowledge of the 
economic and efficient management of a home. The equip- 
ment consists of a regular home flat which is provided in 
the school building. Each girl lives in this flat for six full 
weeks during the school year, so that she learns by prac- 
tical experience the application of the lessons learned in the 
various classes. In the flat one girl is housekeeper and is 
expected to carry on the home at a fixed rate, doing all 
the buying, providing all the supplies, and supervising the 
preparation of the food, and she is responsible for the gen- 
eral management. This course is maintained at a cost of 

1 "Some Trade Schools in Europe." United States Bureau of Education^ 
BuUetin, 1914, No. 23. 



176 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

eight pence (sixteen cents) per day per pupil. Each girl has 
her own bedroom, and is expected to care for it. The girls 
are allowed to visit their homes at different periods, but all 
other time is spent in the school under the care of a teacher 
who herself lives in the building.^ This plan of actually liv- 
ing in the flat or apartment is, as has been said, not general ; 
but it points the way to a method of obtaining that practice 
of the household arts which is lacking in the majority of 
courses offered. 

Albany Vocational School. A four-year course is offered 
here, open to all girls of thirteen years of age and over. Most 
enter from grades six and seven at the age of fourteen. The 
time spent in work relating to the household arts is as follows : 

First year, corresponding to grade seven of the elementary 
school, 225 minutes at sewing, the same time for design, 
and 450 minutes for cooking and general housework per 
week. In the second year the time for cooking and design 
is the same, but six hundred minutes per week are devoted to 
needle-work. In the third and fourth years specialized work 
is allowed, either in millinery, dressmaking, or the other 
household arts, to which ten hours per week are devoted in 
addition to five hours spent on design. The remaining time 
in each year is spent in general academic subjects.^ 

Girls in groups of twenty-five take charge of the kitchen, 
and serve noon lunches to the teachers and pupils. All the 
work is done by the pupils — planning, marketing, buying, 
and cooking. A cashier and assistant cashier, both pupils, 
keep the accounts and do the banking. The lunches are 
sold at two cents per piece and the average lunch bought 

1 " Some Trade Schools in Europe." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1914, No. 23. 

2 Report on Vocational Education in Chicago. Chicago City Club. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 177 

amounts to six cents. Each group of girls serves for two 
weeks. In addition to this lunch-room practice, the girls 
take orders for bread, cake, pastry, etc. Both kitchen and 
dining-room are equipped in very simple style, and all the 
work is done on the workshop plan rather than that of the 
schoolroom, and is therefore much more effective from a 
practical point of view. 

The sewing is carried on in a large schoolroom which has 
been fitted with work tables and five sewing machines. The 
girls are taught to make a variety of simple garments for 
themselves or members of their families as well as articles 
used in the home or in the school. The course also includes 
cutting by patterns and the making of simple drafts. The 
study of fabrics is also part of the course, especially those 
made from cotton and wool, and the girls are taught some- 
thing of their manufacture, quality, patterns, dyes, widths, 
and uses. The girls hem all the table linen and curtains used 
by the school. They take orders for window curtains with 
stenciled borders, aprons, children's clothing, shirt waists, 
etc. Many of the pupils bring sewing from their homes and 
do it in the school shop. Practical application is made of the 
principles of design in the work of these classes. Curtains, 
borders, doilies, attractive spacing of tucks, ruffles, and em- 
broidery, proper combinations of color and trimmings for 
dresses, candle shades, pillow covers, and many other designs 
worked out in the classes are practically applied in the shops. 

Four examples have been given of typical vocational 
schools having courses varying from one year, or less, to four 
years and it is seen that in all of them the household arts 
are stressed as far as the time available permits. These 
examples afford proof of the almost universal opinion that 
the training of the girl cannot be considered as reasonably 

N 



178 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

efficient, unless adequate attention be given to that form 
of industry in which all women expect sooner or later to be 
engaged. 

Schools for homemakers. It now remains to consider 
that type of school which is entirely devoted to homemaking. 
Schools restricted entirely to this purpose are few. This 
is accounted for largely by the fact that, before women enter 
upon homemaking as their life work they spend several 
years in some wage-earning pursuit, and also by the fact 
that the ability to manage a home efficiently and economi- 
cally is supposed to come by instinct and intuition, and 
that therefore no training is needed for it. 

In order to show the difficulties encountered and some of 
the prejudices met with, the experience of the School of Do- 
mestic Science and Domestic Art, Rochester, New York, may 
be mentioned. This school was opened in September, 1909, 
by the city board of education and the state division of 
trade schools as a school for homemakers. After it had 
been running some time, the pupils formed the idea that 
they were being trained for domestic service, and became 
dissatisfied. There was also a tendency on the part of 
other schools to send undesirable and dull pupils, and this 
naturally increased the dissatisfaction. For these reasons 
the school was entirely reorganized in 1910, the home- 
making courses made incidental, and instruction in dress- 
making and millinery was made the principal purpose of 
the school. 

The Stout Institute of Menominie, Wisconsin} — A train- 
ing school for teachers of the household arts was established 
here in 1903, and four years' experience in the management 

1 "A School for Homemakers." Report of Commissioner of Education, 
Washington, 1911. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 179 

of that school led to the conclusion that there were many 
young women who did not wish to take the professional 
and academic training necessary to qualify as teachers of 
the subject, but were anxious to acquire a practical knowl- 
edge of, and training in, all that pertains to the management 
of a home. In order to meet this demand a school for home- 
makers was opened in September, 1907. This school was 
" planned to meet the needs of any young woman who ex- 
pects at some time to have charge of a home ; who realizes 
the value of systematic and practical study and training 
for the proper discharge of the responsibilities which the 
woman in the home must meet, and who cannot pursue such 
study and secure such training outside a school organized 
for this specific purpose. This will include the graduates 
of the university, college, professional and secondary school, 
and those who have not graduated from any of these insti- 
tutions, but whose maturity, education, and capacity are 
such as to enable them to do the required work in a satis- 
factory manner." ^ 

The Stout Institute buildings with which the school is 
connected are well equipped for carrying on the laboratory and 
lecture-room work related to the course offered, and all the 
facilities of the institute are open to the students of the course. 

The scope of the work is very broad, and the subjects are 
grouped under the following heads : the house ; food study 
and cooking; clothing and household fabrics; care of 
children ; home nursing and emergencies ; home and social 
economics. As examples of the wide interpretation placed 
on each of these divisions let us consider in more detail the 
courses offered in the care of children and in home and social 
economics. 

1 Homemaker's Bulletin, Stout Institute, Vol. 4, No. 2. 



180 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The responsibility and care of children in their earliest 
years usually come to women young in years and lacking 
in experience, and owing to this, and the vital importance of 
the subject to the welfare of the nation, it would seem that 
some more adequate preparation than the mere intuition 
of motherhood should be given for the undertaking of this 
great responsibility. If this training were more generally 
given, and the economic conditions of life were such that all 
women could take advantage of it, the result upon the phys- 
ical, moral, and mental well-being of the nation would be 
incalculable, and parents would not be so anxious to shoulder 
their responsibilities upon the school. The time may come 
when a course in child rearing and training is a prerequisite 
to the issue of a marriage license. Incidentally it may be 
said that there is almost as much need for such a course to 
be taken by the future father as by the future mother. 

The curriculum offered includes a study of child nutri- 
tion, of the hygiene of childhood including bathing, cloth- 
ing, amount of sleep, exercise, amount of pure air, regularity 
of habit, absolute cleanliness of the individual, and the en- 
vironment; the consideration of infant diseases and emer- 
gencies ; and the selection, making, and care of clothing. It 
also includes a definite and distinctive study of child psy- 
chology. A study is also made of child literature under 
the following headings : the different classes of children's 
books ; the interests and values of each class ; the art of 
story-telling; a brief sketch of the history of children's 
books; the art of leading the child from a certain interest 
in reading to a related line of reading; and the tests of a 
wholesome book for children of varying ages. 

The course in home and social economics recognizes the 
fact that the woman maintains ethical, social, and indus- 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 181 

trial relationships with the members of her family, and 
with society outside the home, and in order that she may 
perform her duties in both these fields, she must have a 
knowledge of existing conditions and the best means of 
modifying them, when such modification is necessary. All 
the work prescribed in the ofiicial course of study is not given 
to any one class. Only such parts are studied as seem best 
adapted to the needs and capacities of the particular class, 
but the work is taken with every class so that it may develop 
methods of study and arouse interest that will lead to fur- 
ther work after the course is completed. The course is 
commenced with a discussion of the evolution of the house, 
the home, and the family, and^definition of the term " social 
economy." Women's industrial relationships in the home 
and in the community outside the home are discussed in 
great detail. The " servant problem " as it affects the com- 
fort and health of the household is then dealt with. Much 
attention is given to the spending of money as the chief 
economic function of woman to-day. Many other topics 
are discussed and studied, the whole aim of the course being 
the training of the girl of to-day so that she may become the 
woman of influence of to-morrow, and able to exert that in- 
fluence not only in her own family but in the community 
in which she lives. 

The practical side of the work is given great attention. 
The students are housed in two cottages which have been 
provided and furnished for their accommodation. These 
also provide at the same time facilities for the practical 
training in homemaking. Each student cares for her own 
room, and sufficient training is given in the care of the other 
rooms to make her thoroughly familiar with all the require- 
ments of good housekeeping. In the senior year each 



182 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

student acts as housekeeper for a stated period, purchasing 
suppHes, keeping accounts, preparing menus, and directing 
the work of the servants. The director of the school lives 
in one of the cottages. The practice work is required not 
for the sake of having the work done, but in order to give 
the essential training. Room rent is sixty dollars a year. 
The tuition fee is one hundred dollars a year, and there 
are also the usual incidental fees for laboratory, materials, 
diplomas, etc. From what has been said regarding direc- 
tion of servants and the fees charged, it will be seen that 
this school is intended for a class that is able to pay such 
fees, and thus though its usefulness is very great, its activi- 
ties are limited to that class — perhaps the class that is in 
least need of such instruction. 

Homemaking courses in the agricultural colleges. Many 
of the agricultural colleges provide homemaking courses 
lasting for from three months to two years. For example, 
the agricultural college at Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in ad- 
dition to the normal course for the training of teachers 
offers three courses for homemakers — three months, one 
year, and two years in length. These courses are all planned 
for girls who are able to live in their own homes and desire 
to fit themselves for the duties of the homemaker. The 
short courses are limited to a few practical subjects, but are 
thorough as far as they go. The equipment includes a 
suitably furnished apartment in which all the practical 
details of housekeeping are learned. 

These schools do not perhaps train for direct wage- 
earning pursuits, but many of the girls who have been 
trained therein are earning their living in one of the many 
branches of household service. For example, in many of 
Ihe smaller cities and towns the seamstress and dressmaker 



OTHER TYPES OP SCHOOLS 183 

who travels from house to house is in constant demand 
and earns from one dollar and a half to two dollars a day 
with generally one or two meals furnished. Others are 
engaged in tea-room work, lunch-room work, the manage- 
ment of summer camps. These and many other activities 
may be looked upon as by-products of the training in 
household arts. 

Homemaking schools in Denmark. Homemaking schools 
of a rather novel type are to be found in Denmark. These 
homemaking schools are for the purpose of training young 
women for the duties of housekeeping and homemaking, 
mainly, in farm homes. There are a number of these schools 
throughout the country and they are, as a rule, like the 
" People's High Schools," private institutions, owned and 
managed almost entirely by the director and his wife, who 
are the chief instructors. The school near Askov may be 
described as typical of the rest. 

Two courses are held during the year, each lasting ^ve 
months. Twenty young women are admitted to each 
course and are mostly from the families of farmers who own 
and cultivate farms of from thirty to sixty acres. The 
students live in the institution. The cost of the course in- 
cluding board is two hundred kroner (fifty-four dollars) per 
pupil. The subjects taken are housekeeping, cooking, sew- 
ing, dressmaking, gardening, poultry keeping, and dairy 
work. The twenty pupils are divided into three groups. 
One group spends one month in the family kitchen, that is 
the kitchen which is used for the family of the principal 
and the teachers. The group of students is allowed fifty- 
five ore (thirteen cents) per day for each person in the group. 
They are expected to provide and serve wholesome meals 
within that amount. During that month another group of 



184 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

pupils spends its time as follows : one week in the insti- 
tution kitchen, receiving instruction and gaining experience 
by practice. The following week, the forenoons are spent 
in cleaning the rooms and preserving fruits, and the after- 
noons in gardening or other outside work. The third week 
is again spent in the institution kitchen. The fourth week 
the forenoons are devoted to the care of the rooms with 
sewing and dressmaking, and the afternoons to laundry work. 
The pupils of the third group take the same kind of work as 
those of the second group, alternating with them in the 
institution kitchen. The following month the second group 
changes with the first group, and in the next month the third 
group has its chance in the family kitchen. The six or 
seven pupils in each group stay together as a group during 
the whole of the course. 
The following table illustrates how a day is spent : 

First Group 

5.45 Rise : arrange rooms. 

6.30 Oatmeal breakfast with morning singing. 

7 to 8 Houseeleaning and laying table for family. 

8 Breakfast of family and teachers. 

8.30 to 9.30. .Lectm-e. 

9.30 to 12 ... . Practical work in the kitchen. 

12 to 2 Dinner and cleaning up. 

2 to 3.30 Rest or recreation. 

3.30 Coffee. 

4 to 5 Lectm-e. 

5 to 8 Free, except for those who in turn prepare the 

supper. 

8 to 8.30 Supper. 

Second and Third Groups 

5.45 Rise : arrange rooms. 

6.30 Oatmeal breakfast with morning singing. 

7 to 7.45 Theoretical instruction as to what is to be done during 

the day. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 185 

8.30 to 9.30. .Lecture. 

9.30 to 12 Practical work — cleaning rooms, preserving fruits, or 

alternate weeks sewing and dressmaking. (Three 
of the group lay the table for dinner.) 

12 Dinner. 

1 to 3.30 Gardening or other outside work ; on alternate weeks, 

work in the laundry. 

3.30 Coffee. 

4 to 5 Lecture. 

5 to 8 Free time. 

8 to 8.30 Supper. 

In addition to the above, students are expected to read a 
great deal, to write reports, and to make various calculations 
in connection with the work they do. At the beginning of 
the course ten periods are devoted to general instruction. 
After that, while they are working in groups, all the twenty 
pupils receive instruction in one class during the lecture 
periods. During the course twenty-five dinners are studied 
with regard to the nutritive value of the foods of which they 
are composed. The value of the food is fixed at from six 
to seven cents for a two-course dinner per person. Each 
group receives instruction in cookery for invalids during 
some part of the course. 

Each student has a plot of about 25 feet by 18 feet in the 
garden, for practice and instruction, and grows some of all 
the common vegetables. Besides these plots, there are 
larger plots which are rented by the groups of students from 
the director, worked by themselves, and used to provide 
most of the vegetables for their food. This is done for 
the sake of economy, and also for the training which the 
girls receive in management in all its applications. In ad- 
dition to these five-month courses, short courses of fourteen 
days each are given three times during the year. The 
director of this school is a strong believer in the advantages 



186 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

of small groups of pupils over individual or separate work 
and study .^ 

As in the case of the People's High Schools and Agricul- 
tural Schools the poorer pupils may receive a bursary or 
scholarship. Usually this amounts to 25 kroner per month, 
which pays about half the cost of the five months' course 
when the cost of traveling to and from school, books, etc., 
is added to the 200 kroner charged for the course itself. 

In 1912-13 there were 20 such schools in the country 
and 13 of them received state aid, though still retaining 
their private or semi-private character. In this year the 
state appropriated 12,000 kroner to schools of housekeeping 
and domestic science.^ These schools have a great advan- 
tage in the fact that they are nearly all boarding schools, 
the girls are under direction and guidance the whole of the 
time, and have, through the residence, much better op- 
portunities of acquiring a real practical knowledge of all 
that concerns the management of a home. 

School for the training of maids. In Copenhagen there is 
a school for the training of girls for domestic service.^ This 
school is unique, and as far as is known, the only one of the 
kind to be found in the world. It is operated by the Ser- 
vant Girls' Union. The school offers six-month courses for 
beginners, and advanced courses of two months for training 
in cookery, dining-room service, or other special forms of 
household management. This again is a boarding school, 
and the girls pay ten kroner a month for tuition, board, 
room, and laundry. The instruction embraces nutrition. 



* Report of Royal Commission on Industrial and Technical Education. 
Ottawa, 1913. 

' "The Danish People's High Schools." United States Bureau of Edu- 
cation, Bulletin, 1915, No. 45. 



OTHER TYPES OF SCHOOLS 187 

the care of children, and attention to the sick. The girls 
are divided into three sections and rotate for work in the 
kitchen, the house, and the laundry. Some of the rules of 
service imposed by the union are : the working hours are 
from six or seven in the morning to the same hour in the 
evening, with one or one and a half hours* rest during the 
day ; every other Sunday and holiday free from two o'clock 
in the afternoon, and two evenings a week after seven o'clock 
when the girl is free to leave the house if she wishes ; at least 
eight days' vacation a year : overtime to be paid for at the 
rate of twenty-five ore per hour or fifteen ore for the half hour. 
Many housewives, of course, strongly object to these rules, 
and refuse to employ union girls, others are willing to pay 
the higher wages and grant the extra privileges in return for 
the superior excellence of the service rendered by the trained 
girls. The training offered by the school, and the terms of 
service insisted upon, tend to raise the social status of the 
girls and place them on a more equal footing with the girls 
engaged in other industries. It may be that the problem 
of domestic service, which is universal, is to be solved by 
some such plan as this. 

The idea of the homemaking school is becoming more 
popular, but exactly what constitutes adequate training 
for the home is in most minds vague, even with teachers. 
It is now generally admitted that trade training without 
adequate shop practice falls far short of the purpose intended 
and homemaking without opportunities for actual practice, 
under real conditions, cannot be expected to give the train- 
ing required. Such residential schools as above described 
accomplish that purpose in a most effective manner. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN, OR THE DOMES- 
TIC SERVANT PROBLEM 

I. Introduction. 

II. A neglected question. 

III. Dislike of domestic service. 

IV. An old problem. 
V. Mistress and maid. 

VI. Making household service attractive. 
VII. Cooperative housekeeping. 

Introduction. In many of the current discussions on vo- 
cational education it is tacitly assumed that there is an 
insatiable demand for highly skilled labor and that if we 
train all our boys and girls to become skilled laborers, re- 
munerative positions are waiting to swallow them up. It 
is this assumption — implied if not expressed — that forms 
the text of our discussions and the basis of our action. As 
a matter of fact in the present economic condition of society 
and the intense specialization of industry a large majority 
of workers are forever doomed to earn their livelihood in 
so-called unskilled employments. It has been estimated 
that there are probably more than twenty million persons 
in the United States engaged in unskilled occupations.^ It 
is a question whether we should not devote some of our 
attention towards enabling these workers to so order their 
lives outside their industry that they will be able to really 

* Report of Royal Commission on Industrial Education. Ottawa, 1913. 

188 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 189 

live. Just as in our systems of education we have devoted 
our attention to that very small majority who have the 
university as their goal, so we have in our systems of indus- 
trial education concentrated our attention on that small 
majority whom the industries will be able to absorb as skilled 
workers, which is a case of the tail wagging the dog. 

Another illustration of the same tendency is the promi- 
nence that is given in all discussions of household affairs 
to the so-called servant problem. It would be difficult to 
find any meeting of housewives where the question did not 
come up in some form or other. Those who have servants 
complain of their inefficiency, and others deplore the fact 
that they cannot obtain them. When we come to consider 
the real facts of the case, it is found that only eight per cent 
of the homes of the country employ servants regularly.^ 
It is readily admitted that this proportion would be much 
larger if competent help could be obtained, yet even making 
all allowances for the shortage of supply, the demand would 
not warrant the attention the question receives, were it not 
that considerations other than mere numbers enter into the 
problem. Notwithstanding avowals to the contrary, it is 
probably the ambition of the majority of women to be able 
to " keep a servant." We are fond of boasting that our 
democratic society does not admit of class distinctions, yet 
in the matter of household management it is really this 
eight per cent that sets the pace, as it were, for our manner 
of life and the ways of running our households. 

A neglected question. Less attention has been given to 
this question of providing efficient help in the house than 
to any other of the many problems that make up the whole 
field of industrial and vocational education. This is prob- 

^ Pattison, Mary, Principles of Domestic Engineering. 



190 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ably accounted for by the fact that it involves social and 
economic questions which it is dangerous to handle. The 
home has long been looked upon as sacred ground, and the 
idea expressed by the phrase '' the Englishman's home is 
his castle '' has strongly influenced the social organization 
on this continent. Once inside the doors of the home the 
inmates consider themselves free from all interference and 
entitled to do as they please, yet as a matter of fact the 
same principles of national welfare which have led to the 
government regulation of industry would justify the appli- 
cation of the law to many households. The factory law and 
the eight-hour day are needed in many kitchens, but owing 
to the timidity of politicians and the conservatism and 
jealousy of housekeepers all industrial legislation has passed 
the home by, notwithstanding the fact that domestic service 
is still numerically^ the most important occupation for woman. 

Dislike of domestic service. There can be no doubt 
that girls and young women are manifesting an increasing 
disinclination to look upon domestic service, of any other 
kind than mistress of their own homes, as a possible and 
desirable means of earning a livelihood. The causes which 
have brought about this condition are many, but they may 
be briefly enumerated as follows : 

Greater opportunities outside. Greater opportunities are 
now opened up to women outside the home. In the last 
fifty years over three hundred occupations have been made 
accessible to them, and the number of these occupations is 
constantly increasing. During the past two years more 
than 766,000 women have replaced men in industrial oc- 
cupations in Great Britain.^ There are probably more 
than six million women in the United States earning their 

1 United States Department of Labor. Monthly Review, December, 1916, 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 191 

living outside the home, and the conditions under which 
they work, offering as they do regular hours, spare time, 
and freedom to spend it as they wish, appeal to young girls 
more than do the conditions under which ordinary house- 
work is at present performed. 

Social stigma. The social stigma attached to the position 
of " servant " deters girls from entering this field. The 
girl feels herself placed almost at the bottom of the social 
order while employed as a domestic. There can be no 
question that certain social opportunities and privileges 
are enjoyed by those employed in the factory or store that 
are not open to those in domestic service, owing largely to 
unity of action on the part of factory workers, and the es- 
tablished customs of the employment. In the days of the 
old colonial home there was a real sympathetic relationship 
between mistress and maid, and in industry there is to-day 
a well-defined relationship, though often not sympathetic, 
between employer and employee; but the old relationship 
between mistress and maid has disappeared and has not 
yet been replaced by that existing between employer and 
employee. The very names used to describe this worker 
— "servant," " maid-of-all-work," "slavey," "hired girl," 
" Bridget " — show the contempt with which the occupa- 
tion is popularly regarded. Household service was once 
performed by slaves and menials, and we have not yet ap- 
preciated the fact that it is performed so no longer. In 
one of the latest standard encyclopedias domestic servants 
are described as " servants usually occupied in menial work 
in or about a household." Housework properly performed 
is not menial. 

A recent magazine article referring to this social ostracism 
records an interview with a maid who does not agree with the 



192 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

prevailing opinion that domestic service implies loss of social 
position. She says, "I have kept every friend I had in the 
days when I did the same work in my own home. If you 
will analyze the dissatisfaction expressed by servants, you 
will find usually that they want to be the social equals of 
their employers. This is a demand that is not made by any 
other class of employees. I attempted bookkeeping for a 
man one time, but I made no quarrel because his wife did 
not invite me to her table, or take me with her to make 
afternoon calls. Now why should I expect more of the 
people who employ me to do their housework? It is a 
business proposition pure and simple. They have their 
circle of friends and I have mine.'^ 

" I do not think I should mind having my servants at 
the table," the interviewer said, " or even sitting with the 
family around the evening fire, if they did not go out and 
repeat all our domestic affairs." 

" That is where servants are guilty of a great wrong," she 
replied with the spirit of a champion of the down-trodden. 
" Sometime I think I will start an organization among them, 
that shall have ethical training as its basis. There is no 
more excuse for a house-servant to tell the domestic affairs 
abroad than there is for a private secretary to tell business 
secrets." 

The maid who expressed the above ideas was evidently 
of a high type, and her opinion of her work and its status 
can hardly be regarded as general though highly desirable. 
While a change of name would not immediately change the 
popular appreciation of the work and the worker, yet in time 
it might do so. The term " industrial " was once applied 
almost solely to reformative institutions, but now it is ap- 
plied to a form of education admittedly necessary and bene- 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 193 

ficial. The term " maid " does not carry with it the con- 
tempt implied in the other terms mentioned. Professor 
William A. McKeever suggests the term "" household as- 
sistant " for application to a new kind of help for the house- 
hold yet to be evolved by the agency of public education 
for domestic service. 

Long and irregular hours. The long and irregular hours 
during which the helper has to work also prevents many 
who really have a liking for housework from undertaking 
domestic service. A recent investigation, conducted by 
Miss Henrietta Roelofs for the Young Women's Christian 
Association into the condition and state of mind of girls 
employed in the households of the United States, warrants 
the conclusion that there is little objection to the amount 
of work required. The main objection was found to be the 
irregular periods of time over which the work was spread. 
As one girl expressed it, " Most maids could accomplish 
more work in less hours — if they had regular hours." 

The investigation consisted largely of a series of questions 
given to 299 self-supporting young women, 112 in household 
work, 137 in factories, fifteen in department stores, and thirty- 
five in offices, living in seventeen different cities and the final 
conclusion of the investigator is as follows : " A young girl's 
life consists of her family, her companions, her recreation, 
her ambition to be somebody, to improve herself, her find- 
ing herself a place in social groups, the church, the club, 
the union, the neighborhood. An ambitious, self-respecting 
young woman is willing, is eager to sell her labor but never 
her life. Make it possible for the household worker to sell 
her labor for more or less different pieces of time so that she 
may have equal opportunity for self-direction and self- 
development with the office, store, and factory workers, and 



194 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

household employment will be able to compete successfully 
with the store and factory. When this is accomplished, the 
so-called servant problem will have disappeared. Ambitious, 
intelligent young women will be re-attracted to household 
work ; with the competition for positions will come the op- 
portunity to demand skill and training. Above all, home life 
will no longer be at the mercy of housework. The burden of 
placing housework on this new basis rests with the employer. 

Lack of sympathetic consideration. In many homes, par- 
ticularly those in which one maid only is employed, the girl 
receives little sympathetic consideration from the different 
members of the household. She is compelled to live in her 
employer's home, and is often given the poorest accommo- 
dation in the house for a sleeping place. Owing to a certain 
mental attitude, she has a constant feeling of inferiority, 
and this is not conducive to cheerful and efficient perform- 
ance of duty. The mistress herself has not, in many 
instances, the ability to train a maid properly, and many 
of those that have the ability object to using it in this direc- 
tion, on the ground that directly the maid becomes efficient 
she leaves, if offered a slightly higher wage. There are many 
other causes to account for the present situation, but those 
given are probably sufficient to explain in some measure 
the increasing disinclination of young girls and women for 
this form of occupation. 

An old problem. This domestic service problem, like 
many others connected with industry, is not at all new. 
Ninety years ago societies " for the encouragement of faith- 
ful domestic servants " were organized in New York, Phila- 
delphia, and Boston. These societies acted as employment 
offices, and provided prizes for servants who remained the 
longest time in one place. The New York Society (1826) 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 195 

gave a Bible at the end of the first year, three dollars at the 
end of the second year, and a dollar added for each succes- 
sive year until the seventh, when the sum was raised to 
ten dollars. These societies were philanthropic and moral 
organizations, and their chief work seems to have been mainly 
designed towards securing obedience and deference to the 
employers. A writer in the Christian Inquirer of May 6, 
1826, states, '' The Society appear to think that there is a 
certain species of mankind born for the use of the remainder, 
and they talk of employing them as they would a breed of 
horned cattle." The society offered " friendly advice to 
servants " such as the following : 

" Never quit a place on your own accord, except on such 
account that in distress or death you think you did right. 

"Be moderate in your wages ; many very good places are 
lost by asking too much. 

"If you cannot pray as well as you would, be sure every 
night and morning to do it as well as you can. 

" Rise early and your services will give more satisfaction. 

"Be modest and quiet, not talkative and presuming. 

" Don't spend any part of the Sabbath in idleness or walk- 
ing about for pleasure. 

" Watch against daintiness. 

"Be always employed, for Satan finds some mischief still 
for idle hands to do. 

" Keep your temper and tongue under government ; never 
give your employer a sharp answer, nor be in haste to excuse 
yourself. 

" Leave every place respectfully ; it is your duty." 

It will be seen that all this " friendly advice " was " too 
much on one side, tending more to the advantage of the 
hirer than the hired." 



196 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

When the Philadelphia Society was formed, a writer in the 
Mechanics Free Press suggested that a society to encourage 
" faithful employers " would be more likely to accomplish 
the desired purpose. " There is quite as much propriety," 
he said, " that those who employ should produce certificates 
of capacity, correctness, etc., as those who are employed. . . . 
From an experience of nearly 20 years as an employer I am 
led to conclude that there is in this case less to be complained 
of on the part of the employer than the employed." ^ 

Mistress and maid. In the consideration of this question 
there are two essential factors — the mistress and the maid. 
At present each blames the other. That maids are in- 
efficient is generally admitted, but they are probably not more 
so than employees in other industries. May it not be pos- 
sible that mistresses also are inefficient? The demand for 
domestic workers is greater than the supply, and when this 
is the case, the standard is always lowered owing to the fact 
that any labor, however inefficient, is better than none. 
Labor statistics for New York City show a demand in that 
neighborhood for one hundred thousand more houseworkers 
than are at present available.^ That there is dissatisfaction 
on both sides is shown by the fact that of the domestic 
workers placed by the combined intelligence offices of New 
York City, the average length of time for them to remain in 
one situation is two weeks. This not only affects the comfort 
of the home, but also the character and stability of the maid 
herself. Both mistress and maid must share the blame for 
this condition of affairs. To which belongs the greater 
share it would perhaps not be wise to say. 

* Report on Condition of Women and Child Wage Earners in the United 
States, Vol. 9. Bureau of Commerce and Labor, Washington. 

* Pattison, Mary, Principles of Domestic Engineering. 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 197 

Making household service attractive. Admitting that 
an adequate supply of houseworkers is necessary, and that 
housework is a desirable and may be made an attractive 
occupation for young girls and women, let us consider some 
of the steps that should be taken to increase the supply 
and competency of maids, make mistresses efficient, and the 
employment attractive. 

Fair and just agreements. Fair and just conditions should 
be offered for faithful and efficient service. Of course, the 
question then arises, what are fair conditions, and what is 
efficient service. A standard must be fixed. The interests 
of mistress and maid are identical. A mutual agreement 
should be arrived at, and the conditions once fixed should 
be adhered to, even though it causes inconvenience to either 
party. Employer and employee in other industries enter 
into definite agreements before the work is entered upon, 
and as a rule rigidly adhere to them, but in the household, 
even if an agreement is tentatively made, it is liable to be 
changed without a moment's notice by either side. In this 
connection, there should be considered the quarters provided 
for the lodgment of the household help. Too often the 
girl is confined to two rooms, the kitchen and her bedroom, 
and the latter is usually, to say the least, not an attractive 
room. It does not need any stretch of the imagination 
to see that under these circumstances the home life of the 
girl is really non-existent. 

Standards of work and wages. A standard of work and 
wages should be established. In this field inefficiency seems 
to be able to command as high a wage as efficiency, and so 
long as this is the case the maid will be quite indifferent to 
the varying opportunities now offered in household arts 
schools for self-improvement. The individualistic method 



198 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

of reaching an agreement does not obtain largely in other 
forms of industry. We want on the one hand a league of 
housekeepers, and on the other a union of maids, and agree- 
ments could be entered into by these two bodies which should 
be binding on the individual members of each. Home- 
makers' conferences could perhaps perform no better service 
than in discussing these questions, and in formulating stand- 
ards. It may be contended that no two houses are run 
exactly alike, but neither are any two factories or shops, 
yet conditions there are standardized, and are a matter of 
mutual agreement. In the many housekeepers' conferences 
and women's institutes held throughout the country, dis- 
cussions of great importance are held, but as a rule they are 
too general and do not attack or solve specific problems. 

Time for rest, recreation, and culture. The maid should 
be allowed to receive and entertain her friends within due 
limits. It must be remembered that the house in which 
the girl is employed is frequently her only home, and if she 
is not allowed to receive her friends there, the tendency 
will be to resort to undesirable places. Many mistresses 
still cling to the '^ afternoon out " and resent visitors to the 
maid. The old English dictum of " No followers allowed " 
has not yet entirely disappeared. Change and recreation 
are absolutely necessary in order to preserve a normal mental 
balance. The worker in the factory or the shop gets a con- 
stant amount of variation in her intercourse with her fellows 
that is denied to the maid working alone in a kitchen. Wel- 
fare work in factories and stores has been proved beyond 
doubt to result in greater output, and actually to pay in 
dollars and cents, and it may be reasonably assumed that 
it would pay also in the field of domestic service. At present 
there are not many houses in which the maid can entertain 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 199 

her friends outside the kitchen, but when the need of such 
provision is recognized by public sentiment, such provision 
will probably be made. 

Associations for housewives are not common, but there 
is urgent need for them. An association somewhat of this 
type is the " Metropolitan Association for befriending young 
servants " in London, England. This association was formed 
to assist girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty. 
The girls are visited in their situations by ladies of the com- 
mittee; provided with safe lodgings while out of a place; 
trained and taught their duties; cared for in sickness and 
provided with clothing when necessary. The association 
has eight training houses in which girls are taught their 
duties as domestic servants and eleven lodging houses in 
or near London to which girls can go in the critical periods 
when they are not in a situation, or where they can obtain 
help and advice from the matron at any time. That the 
girls appreciate this help is shown by the fact that in one 
branch alone over six hundred visits were paid in one year by 
girls on their " afternoon out." Bible classes are held in the 
homes on Sunday afternoons, and the girls are made welcome 
at any time. The association has many branches and other 
organizations affiliated to it. It would seem that an organ- 
ization of this kind, with perhaps some of the charitable 
features removed, might do valuable work among those 
who are now employed as domestic servants. 

Definite hours fixed. The majority of conflicts in the in- 
dustrial world between capital and labor have turned mainly 
on two points — wages and hours. In industry the battle 
for the eight-hour day has been largely won, but the battle 
has yet to be fought in regard to domestic employment. 
It must be admitted that the problem is a difficult and com- 



200 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

plicated one, and it is also one for which the mistress is not 
entirely responsible. The long hours depend to a consider- 
able extent on the habits of the man of the house, and his 
habits partly depend on the nature of his employment. As 
a rule, he works at least eight hours a day. This means 
that the maid must be at work an hour before he leaves, 
and at least an hour after he returns, making ten hours, 
exclusive of any entertaining that is done at night. How, 
then, it is asked, can the eight-hour day be introduced into 
the kitchen. Of course, this ten hours is not continuous. 
In every well-regulated household, it should be possible 
for the maid to have at least two hours in the afternoon for 
rest, recreation, or culture, and this two hours should not 
be infringed upon except by mutual consent. Why should 
not the maid be paid for overtime as is the practice in most 
other industries. If this were done, the mistress would not 
hesitate to ask for extra service, nor would the maid under 
ordinary circumstances refuse to perform it. In estimating 
the wages paid to domestic workers it must not be forgotten 
that to the actual money paid there must be added board 
and lodging, and this usually brings the total wage to a 
higher sum than is paid in other forms of industry. Spe- 
cialization is the characteristic of modern industry, but 
as yet specialization has not touched the home. As the 
household develops, it is probable that more of the home 
duties will be turned over to specialists who will perform 
the work outside the home, or come to it at stated intervals. 
The " maid-of-all-work is an anachronism in the field of 
modern industry." 

Lessening of drudgery. Every reasonable effort should 
be made to lessen the drudgery of housework. Of course 
it is not orthodox at the present stage of the household arts 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 201 

movement to talk about '' drudgery " in connection with 
the home, but it cannot be denied that ordinary housework, 
as it is generally performed, consists largely of drudgery. 
But admitting this is far from saying that it must of neces- 
sity be so. Housewives and teachers are probably the 
most conservative elements in the human race, and the intro- 
duction of labor-saving devices into the home has been very 
slow. There are signs, however, that considerable interest 
is now being taken in such labor-saving devices as electric 
irons, vacuum cleaners, fireless cookers, electric motors for 
grinding coffee, cleaning silver, polishing knives, beating 
eggs, making ice cream, running dishwashers, and turning 
washing machines and wringers. 

Consider the energy that is spent in washing alone. If 
washing had to be done by men, the demand for washing 
machines would be enormously increased. No man would 
spend about one seventh of his time in scrubbing away at a 
washboard. He would get the best machine, and then begin 
to hunt about for power to run it. After about a yearns 
use he would proudly explain that it had not cost him a cent, 
because it had paid for itself in the time it had saved, but, 
unfortunately, women have not yet learned to consider their 
time as worth anything. Most women are afraid of machin- 
ery. Suggest an electric washer, and they are afraid of 
shock, or that they might get it started and could not stop 
it, or that it would wear out the clothes. It is no use to tell 
them that the current of 110 volts, which experience has 
shown is the best for domestic use, could not possibly be 
dangerous, and would scarcely be uncomfortable. The 
machine will generally have to be installed by the man, and 
he will have to teach his wife how to run it, generally without 
much encouragement from her. But if every man would 



202 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

spend some time in teaching his wife to adopt labor-saving 
methods in her housework, as he has aheady adopted them 
in his industrial life, housework would not be about one 
hundred years behind the other industries. In many cases, 
of course, the wives would not be willing to admit that they 
could be taught anything about housekeeping by a man. 

The work done by women in the house has never been 
accurately calculated in terms of horse power, but as an 
indication take the following form a magazine issued by an 
electric lighting and power company : 

'* There are now fifteen thousand electric irons in use in 
a large eastern city. Few women, and no men, realize what 
this means in actual labor saving. Where one electric flat- 
iron is now used, the house- wife formerly required at least 
three six-pound ' sad ' irons, and while one was in use, two 
had to stand on the stove to heat. Fifteen thousand electric 
irons have, therefore, replaced forty-five thousand sad irons. 
At six pounds apiece this means two hundred and seventy 
thousand pounds or 135 tons. Now the constant use of this 
enormous amount of old irons meant a tremendous outlay 
of energy, or exertion of strength, that was required every 
ironing day equivalent to 2400 horse power, and this was 
simply termed ' woman's work.' It should be termed the 
' waste of woman power.' " 

Reference has already been made to the amount of time 
spent in dishwashing in the ordinary household arts class. 
The time spent in the average home in this operation is con- 
siderable in amount, and the work is, moreover, generally 
regarded as unpleasant. This work could also be done by 
machinery. The electric dishwashing machine '' is a simply 
constructed, very good-looking piece of furniture permanently 
installed only to the extent of being connected with the 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 203 

supply of gas, water, and electric power. With the very 
minimum of boiling water — not more than two gallons — 
it sterilizes and washes about seventy pieces of china and 
glass, and fifty or more pieces of silver at one time. All 
this in less than ten minutes from the placing of them in 
the box and without as much as touching a finger to the 
dishwater during the whole most dainty and delicate opera- 
tion. It is all so simple and yet so ingenious that one marvels 
why it has never been done before, and as the new con- 
sciousness of scientifically washing dishes is developed from 
day to day, the wonder grows that women have for so long 
been slaves to the old methods of dishpans, cloths, mops, 
towels, and all the other unsanitary and unhygienic means.'* 

The average woman, however, fights shy of such ap- 
pliances. In discussing this particular question with an 
excellent manager and housekeeper of my acquaintance, 
the discussion was closed with the remark ^*^ if a woman in 
an ordinary house cannot wash her own dishes, there is 
something wrong with the woman," and this remark is 
typical of the opinions of perhaps ninety-five per cent of the 
housewives of the country. 

Part of the general labor problem. The domestic serv- 
ice question should be considered as part of the general 
labor problem. It has an economic and historical aspect, 
as well as a personal one, but up to the present only 
the latter has been considered. Owing to the facts 
that the occupation does not involve the employment 
of a large amount of capital on either side, that the 
products of domestic service are more transient than 
other labor products, and that combinations and unions 
are practically unknown, the subject has scarcely been 
looked upon as worthy the attention of legislators and 



204 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

economists, and domestic service remains isolated politically 
as well as socially. The first attempt to treat the subject 
from the economic point of view was made by Miss Lucy 
M. Salmon, and her whole conclusion seems to be that the 
question will be solved only by the full recognition of the 
professional aspects of the problems. She concludes that 
the popularly described remedial measures are '' doubtful," 
owing to the fact that they do not touch the economic and 
industrial difficulties or " that they run at right angles to 
general economic educational and industrial progress." 
The basis of her thorough and scientific study of the ques- 
tion is found in the following quotation : ^' The difficul- 
ties that meet the employer of domestic labor, both in 
America and Europe, are the difficulties that arise from 
the attempt to harmonize an ancient patriarchal industrial 
system with the conditions of modern life. Everywhere 
the employer closes his eyes to the incongruities of the at- 
tempt, and lays the blame of failure, not to a defective sys- 
tem, but to the natural weaknesses in the character of the 
unfortunate persons obliged to carry it out. The difficulties 
in the path of both employer and employee will not only 
never be removed, but will increase, until the subject of 
domestic service is regarded as a part of the great labor 
question of the day and given the same serious considera- 
tion." 1 

There are now signs that this question is to receive some 
attention from the social, educational, and economic stand- 
point. Various bureaus of labor and economic associa- 
tions are investigating the subject from these angles, and 
though the investigations are materially hampered by the 

1 "School Training for the Home Duties of Women." Special Reports, 
Vol. 15. Board of Education, London, England. 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 205 

fact that there are no unions through which information 
may be obtained, and the very personal relations between 
mistress and maid, which often lead both parties to resent 
requests for information as undue interference with their 
private affairs, yet good results may be expected even though 
deductions have to be made from relatively small numbers. 
In conducting investigations the families chosen should be 
as far as possible typical of the district in which the investi- 
gation is being conducted. 

Probably the most comprehensive report ever made on 
the subject of women in industry was the Report on Con- 
dition of Women and Child Wage Earners in the United 
States, made by the authority of the Senate. This is in nine- 
teen volumes and deals with practically every industry in 
which women are employed except that of domestic service. 
The Act of Congress, approved January 29, 1907, under 
which this investigation was made, provided " that the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor be, and he is hereby 
authorized and directed to investigate and report on the 
industrial, social, moral, educational, and physical condition 
of woman and child workers in the United States wherever 
employed with special reference to their age, hours of labor, 
term of employment, health, illiteracy, sanitary and other 
conditions surrounding their occupation and the means em- 
ployed for the protection of their health, person, and morals." 

It would seem to the layman that the broad terms in which 
this act was drawn would have quite logically warranted 
the inclusion of domestic servants under the term " wherever 
employed," but for some reason or other they were not so 
included. What is needed now, is an investigation under 
government authority as broad and comprehensive as that 
contained in the nineteen volumes above referred to. 



206 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Abolition of private employment agencies. The ordinary 
intelligence or registry office is probably responsible for a 
great deal of the degradation of household service. The 
" Apprentice and Skilled Employment Association " of 
London, England, strongly advises girls when looking for a 
situation to avoid answering advertisements in newspapers, 
and taking situations unknown to them or their friends. 
They are also warned against applying to any registry office 
or employment agency, much less entering any home 
connected with the registry or agency without at first 
making sure that such office or home bears a good char- 
acter. There is an association called the " National Vigi- 
lance Association " which will give such information and 
verify situations. 

The chief business of these offices is the collection of fees, 
and the more frequently maids change their positions, the 
more fees are collected. Under these circumstances, the 
office does not concern itself with the fitness of either mis- 
tress or maid. While it is universally admitted that many 
maids are inefficient, it is not so generally admitted that 
many mistresses are unfit to employ a maid, or that they 
require a peculiar type of girl. On the other hand a girl 
who has been a failure in one place may not necessarily be 
so in another, where her work is performed under different 
conditions. These offices have neither the ability nor desire 
to consider the temperamental character of mistress or maid, 
and so are not able to make any attempt to harmonize 
relationships, and thus it is only by the merest chance that 
both parties are suited. Such offices should be replaced 
by government bureaus, labor exchanges, or reputable in- 
stitutions. Under such organizations the skilled maid would 
find herself much better off, if supplied through such a 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 207 

bureau, as she would probably have a court of appeal in case 
of dispute. 

If this occupation were raised to the status of a business, 
a demand for skilled labor would be created. Not only 
would the maid be better off, but the particular require- 
ments of each client could be considered. Contracts could 
be made with the head of the bureau, and he or she might 
act as a permanent board of arbitration between mistress 
and maid. The maid would be safeguarded against injustice 
and the mistress against imposition. These bureaus could 
supply maids for specific duties for specified hours at a cost 
less than that now paid. When wages, rental, heat, light, 
food, breakage, and waste are taken into account it is es- 
timated that the average cost per hour for the general house- 
work girl is from twenty to thirty cents. Such bureaus, if 
established, might well direct their attention to the encour- 
agement of specialization. 

As an example of work of this kind the activities of the 
Housewives' League of Montclair, New Jersey, may be cited. 
This league has a standing committee on domestic service. 
This committee publishes in the local newspapers and through 
the women's clubs the state laws concerning the subject; 
namely, that no intelligence office may be used as a dormi- 
tory or restaurant; that every such office must keep an 
available list for reference of its applicants for positions; 
and that the fee for prospective employer or employee must 
not exceed ten per cent of the first month's wages. The 
committee has also secured the active cooperation of the 
town officials in the enforcement of these laws. The com- 
mittee maintains for the benefit of the league a private 
list of day-workers, laundresses, cooks, waitresses, mother's 
helpers, and artisans who are available in cases of emergency 



208 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and whose honesty and efficiency are vouched for by two or 
more members of the organization.^ 

The state free employment agencies now being established 
in many states are dealing with this question to some extent. 
In the year 1915 the agencies in the state of Massachusetts 
found employment under " domestic and personal service 
for 6270 males and 9925 females." ^ 

Work done outside the home. In this connection may be 
considered cookery and laundry work. It is a great waste 
of time and money to carry on so many family washes. 
Take an ordinary community. Every Monday morning 
one hundred families or more are doing the washing with 
one hundred separate fires. This work could be much 
better done in a public laundry. The objections urged 
several years ago against public laundries now no longer 
have weight. Regulation of hours of labor, physical con- 
dition of workers, and the sanitary conditions under which 
the work is carried on are now under the restriction of the 
law. All places, except the home kitchen, where food is 
prepared for sale, are now under the same restrictions ; and 
when these laws are properly enforced a pure food supply 
is assured. This matter is largely in the hands of women, 
and their attention might well be directed to strengthening 
and enforcing the laws in regard to laundries, bakeries, and 
food supply houses generally ; and when these can be de- 
pended upon the woman will be justified in having much of 
her cookery and laundry done outside the home in places 
fully and properly equipped for the purpose. 

Mistresses with adequate knowledge. The mistress herself 
should have the knowledge necessary to supervise intelli- 

^ Journal of Home Economics, October, 1915. 

2 Mass. State Free Employment Offices, 9th Annual Report, 1915. 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 209 

gently and sympathetically direct the work of the maid. 
While many of the defects complained of are due to the in- 
efficiency of the maid many are also due to the ignorance 
of the mistress. The mere financial ability to employ a 
maid does not of necessity imply that the mistress has the 
ability to plan and supervise her work intelligently, or even 
to judge it fairly when planned by the maid herself. Just 
as in our systems of education it is often as important to 
educate the parent as to educate the child, so in this domes- 
tic service problem it is often as important to educate the 
mistress as to educate the maid. Classes for housewives 
have been formed in various parts of the community. In 
response to a circular sent out by the superintendent of 
schools in Montclair, New Jersey, 225 women appeared at 
the domestic science kitchen of the high school and of these 
eight classes were formed. At the opening of the second 
term four classes were formed, and these four classes were 
composed of women who were determined to get all the 
teacher had to give. The day school for the training of the 
mature housekeeper has not yet been fully made use of. 
In most communities it is found that there are many women 
anxious to obtain instruction in certain branches of house- 
keeping, and for this purpose the unit course system pre- 
viously referred to is particularly suitable. Training given 
to the housewife has rendered her better able to supervise 
the work of the maid in an intelligent and sympathetic 
manner. 

Better trained maids. Lack of training is a condition com- 
mon to all industrial workers. In domestic service even 
the learner has an opportunity to earn more than living 
expenses. It is the one form of industry in which the capable 
can always find a position, and it offers good preparation 



210 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

for a girl to make afterwards a home of her own. Practical 
experience in housework in the girl's own home is often the 
best kind of training for success in domestic service, and 
training while in service is best secured under a good upper 
servant or under a good mistress where only one servant 
is kept. 

The part-time system for industrial workers might well 
be introduced here. Several examples of this are to be 
found in different parts of the country. Girls are allowed 
by their mistresses in many instances to attend evening 
classes, though this is not nearly as common as it ought to 
be. In a study made of the working girls in the evening 
schools of the city of New York the following passage oc- 
curs : " The largest group of wage-earning girls in New York 
is in domestic and personal service, but among evening school 
pupils, representatives of this group are few in number. 
Principals of evening schools cite cases of girls employed 
in household work who have not been able to continue in 
classes, even when they made a beginning. The nature of 
their tasks keeps them on duty longer hours than are required 
of workers in any factories, stores, or ojffices in New York. 
In view of this fact, not the absence of domestic workers, 
but the number of them in night schools is surprising. But 
the group of evening pupils employed in ' domestic and 
personal service ' consists not only of maids, cooks, waitresses 
and laundresses in private families, but also of office cleaners, 
janitresses, hairdressers, trained nurses and companions, as 
well as employees in hotels, restaurants, diet kitchens, and 
institutions." ^ 

A notable example of classes formed for the specific purpose 
of giving definite instruction to maids in service is to be found 

1 Van Kleeck, Working Girls in Evening Schools. . 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 211 

in Montclair, New Jersey. The success of the class for house- 
wives, previously referred to, led to the idea that classes for 
maids might be equally successful. These classes were started 
in January, 1915. The head of the domestic science depart- 
ment of the high school, in conference with a committee 
of the Housewives' League, drafted a course of twelve les- 
sons, including instruction in the care of household equip- 
ment, the use of the fireless cooker, the preparation and 
serving of soups, cereals, sauces, meats, vegetables, and 
eggs. The total cost of the lessons was two dollars a mem- 
ber. In addition, talks were given on simple personal hy- 
giene, avoidance of waste, and moral responsibility to the 
employer. Between sixty and seventy were enrolled, and the 
classes proved an unqualified success. More advanced work 
is now being given and the classes are being continued.^ 

The new high school in this city is fortunate in having for 
its equipment a set of unit kitchens, and the work can be 
carried on much as it would be in the home kitchen. Diplo- 
mas are given for each completed course of study. These 
classes for maids have had the peculiar result of increas- 
ing the attendance at the housewives' classes. The classes 
were advertised by letters sent to organizations representing 
over a thousand women, and by circulars distributed in the 
schools where the classes were held. In nearly every case 
the mistresses are paying the tuition of their maids, and 
without exception they are giving two and a half hours per 
week from the regular schedule of work, not from the " day 
out." These classes are said by their organizers to have 
exposed as fallacies " certain false concepts that in the heat 
of the domestic conflict have been too often regarded as 
axioms such as the following : 

1 Journal of Home Economics, October, 1915. 



212 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

"a. Mistresses are tyrannical and maids irresponsible. 

" b. Mistresses disregard ethics in dealing with each other, 
therefore the maid follows their example. 

" c. The domestic service problem cannot be solved in terms 
in which the other labor problems are solved. 

" d. A competent mistress has nothing to learn and a com- 
petent maid cannot be improved. 

"e. Housework is drudgery and cannot become anything 
else." 

Cooperative housekeeping. One of the striking features 
of industrial life outside the home, is the extent to which the 
principle of cooperation is coming into play. The three 
great household arts are represented by the broom, the 
washboard, and the stove, and anything that can lighten 
or eliminate the use of these will help to solve the domestic 
servant problem. One would think that the cooking and 
laundry could be done outside the home. The commercial 
laundry is of course an accomplished fact, and the house- 
wives in the poorer districts are coming to rely more and 
more upon the cook and delicatessen shop. But this is not 
cooperation. Attempts have been made by community 
kitchens to deal with the problem of home cooking, but very 
few of these attempts have been successful either financially 
or socially. Various plans have been tried. At such a 
kitchen in England the food was sent from the homes and 
cooked and returned. In some cases all cooked meals are 
served in a common dining-room, but in others the meals 
are delivered. In some English towns it is the regular prac- 
tice to have the Sunday dinner cooked in the bakeshop. 
The ideal plans for such kitchens have not yet been evolved, 
but the need for them in certain communities seems to be 
generally admitted. 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 213 

The following account of a cooperative kitchen " that is 
meeting a need in its community " is adapted from the 
Journal of Home Economics. This kitchen has been in 
operation for some months in a suburban town and has 
now paid all expenses. Two new features have been intro- 
duced — the selection of a " food carrier '^ and catering to 
individual requirements. The plans took two years to 
develop. A careful study was made of similar enterprises, 
and the cooperation of families troubled with the servant 
problem secured. A society was organized and the directors 
decided that at least one thousand dollars should be raised 
by stock subscriptions before they would make a beginning ; 
but when nine hundred dollars had been subscribed, ninety 
persons having taken one share each, the kitchen was in- 
augurated owing to pressure by the stockholders. 

Half a double house was rented in a central locality, and 
two rooms on the first floor were converted into a dining- 
room. This was fitted with small tables and attractively 
arranged. The silver and china provided were of fine 
quality and dainty paper doilies were obtained to take the 
place of linen. The kitchen on the first floor was simply 
equipped, and storeroom and laundry facilities were arranged 
for in the basement. The plant cost five hundred dollars. 
From the first the kitchen had as many customers as could 
be handled properly, and the number has steadily grown. 
The work done up to the present consists in serving meals 
in the association's dining-room, sending out meals by hired 
automobiles, sending maids to serve in the homes, and cater- 
ing for entertainments and social functions. The prices 
charged for meals are as follows : to subscribers, breakfast 
twenty-five cents, lunch thirty-five cents, dinner fifty cents ; 
to non-subscribers, breakfast thirty-five cents, lunch forty- 



214 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

five cents, dinner sixty-five cents. In addition ten cents 
is charged for each delivery. 

The difficult problem of the delivery of hot meals has been 
overcome by the adoption of a Swedish container consist- 
ing of a tier of enameled or aluminum dishes, which fit 
snugly into an ice-cream container. In this way the food 
keeps hot for several hours. With two automobiles going 
in different directions it takes about one and a half hours to 
deliver the dinners. Soups, meats, vegetables, salads, and 
desserts are sent out in this way, and the cold dishes are placed 
in a separate container. Large dinners are sometimes pre- 
pared for organizations, and in these cases part of the food 
is cooked at the kitchen, and part where the dinner is served. 
The staff consists of five workers in the kitchen, a manager, 
an assistant manager, a cook, butler, and waitress ; and this 
is considered a small number in view of the character and 
amount of the work done. 

The kitchen is now operated without loss, and the authori- 
ties feel that if working capital were available it would make 
a profit, since at present all the food has to be bought at 
retail. Thirty dollars a month could be saved by the whole- 
sale buying of all foodstuffs. Another saving in the running 
expenses would be the purchase of an automobile. The 
company is now incorporated. A cash dividend of six per 
cent is to be paid to shareholders when possible, and any 
surplus will be used to reduce the cost of operation and cost 
of meals to stockholders. The demand for meals to be 
sent to the homes is increasing, although only a few families 
have three meals per day sent regularly. Meals are gen- 
erally ordered when one servant is temporarily lacking in 
a household, or on the maid's day out. Sundays and Thurs- 
days are the heaviest days, and as many as fifty-eight din- 



THE BOYCOTT OF THE KITCHEN 215 

ners have been served on Sundays with eleven orders refused. 
The need for such services as are performed by this kitchen 
has been clearly demonstrated, and it may be assumed that 
there are many other communities where the same conditions 
prevail. 

May we not look forward to the time when housework 
will become so standardized and systematized that the work 
in the average home may be done by its inmates without any 
outside assistance, and hope that on those occasions when 
help is required that it may be obtained through some re- 
liable bureau or government agency. Our efforts may well 
be directed towards making the domestic service problem 
eliminate itself. 

As Professor Carleton says : " Industrial history unmis- 
takably points to the conclusion that woman's household 
industry is doomed. Little will permanently remain, and 
what does remain will, in a large measure, be most efficiently 
performed by specialized workers going from one household 
to another. Household work when thus performed will 
attain a professional dignity which has hitherto been entirely 
lacking." ^ 

* Carleton, Frank Tracy, Education and the Industrial Evolution, 



PART II 
WOMEN IN INDUSTRY OUTSIDE THE HOME 



CHAPTER VIII 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

I. Women's early industries. 

II. Women's present industries. 

III. Effect of war upon employment of women. 

IV. First appearance of women in outside industries. 
V. Early vocational education for women. 

VI. Divided opinions on the employment of women. 
VII. Trades schools for girls. 
VIII, Vocational training for the 14-16-year-old girl. 
IX. Reasons for leaving school. 
X. Part-time education. 
XI. Training for some industries impossible. 
XII. The educational content of industry. 
XIII. Organization of a factory school. 

The " woman in industry " is by no means a new problem, 
yet it is not infrequently treated as a peculiar feature of 
modern times. Women have always been in industry, 
and a study of their work from early times shows a change 
in kind rather than in amount or intensity. In Biblical 
times virtue and industry were inseparably connected. 
The Hebrew ideal of the virtuous woman is embodied as 
follows : " She seeketh wool and iflax, and worketh willingly 
with her hands." " She considereth a field, and buyeth it; 
with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard." " She 
layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the dis- 
taff." " She maketh fine linen, and selleth it ; and delivereth 
girdles unto the merchant." 

Women's early industries. Woman has always been 
a producer. In the early days she spun the flax and wove 

219 



220 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

the linen; she cured the meats for the sustenance of the 
family, and she ground the corn ; she made the candles and 
the soap, and all the numerous materials required for the 
running of the home. In fact every home was self-contained 
and included in embryo all the elements of the modern 
industrial system. It is of course not possible to estimate 
in terms of dollars and cents the value of this household 
industry, but the clothing and feeding of the family depended 
almost entirely upon it. In addition to this non-wage- 
earning industry, it must be remembered that many women 
even in early colonial days were wage-earners even according 
to the present census definition. Spinning, sewing, weav- 
ing, domestic service, were often engaged in as direct wage- 
earning pursuits. In addition to this many women entered 
into businesses of their own in the sewing and textile trade, and 
also in such industries as the making of blackberry brandy. 
The place of the woman in industry was in these days un- 
questioned, and many of the largest and most prosperous 
industries of the present day have grown out of her efforts. 
The following extract from the diary of an eighteenth cen- 
tury housewife is fairly typical of what her duties were 
before the manufacturer took the province of producer out 
of her hands. " Fixed gown for Prude ; mended mother's 
riding hood; spun short thread; carded tow; worked on 
cheese basket; hatcheled flax with Hannah, we did fifty- 
one pounds a-piece; pleated and ironed; read a sermon 
of Doddridge's; spooled a piece; milked the cows; spun 
linen, did fifty knots; set a red dye; had two scholars 
from Mrs. Taylor's. I carded two pounds of whole 
wool and felt nationly; spun harness twine; scoured 
the pewter." ^ 

1 Bruere, Increasing Home Efficiency. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 221 

Women's present industries. The different branches of 
industry in which women are now engaged are as follows : 

(1) Textile industries; (2) clothing and sewing trades; 
(3) domestic service; (4) manufacture of food and kin- 
(Jred products, including beverages; (5) other manufac- 
turing industries including tobacco and cigars, the paper 
and printing industries, the manufacture of metals of all 
kinds and of wood, clay, glass, and chemicals ; (6) trade and 
transportation. 

The first four of these groups are well within the tradi- 
tional sphere of women's work. They do not in their present 
development represent the entry of women into new occu- 
pations, but indicate only a change in the conditions under 
which they have labored. In the fifth group, however, the 
history of women's employment is of an entirely different 
character, for here they have entered upon occupations 
which were long considered the traditional domain of man. 
As women have encroached upon men's industries, so men 
have invaded fields formerly exclusively filled by women. 
One kind of spinning is now done by men only. Every 
year more women's suits are made by tailors. Men dress- 
makers and men milliners are common. Men make our 
bread, wash our clothes, cook our food, and even clean 
our houses with the vacuum cleaner. 

The work of women has changed from a household matter 
to one of mills, factories, and shops. Women have naturally 
followed their spinning wheels and looms, their soup kettles 
and their preserving jars, their poultices and herb teas, 
all the paraphernalia of the industries in which they have 
been busied from the beginning of time, out of the home 
into the factory. There are now at least three hundred 
occupations in which women are engaged. According to the 



222 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 



census of 1910 there Were 8,075,772 females of ten years of 
age and over " gainfully employed," representing 23.4 per 
cent of all the females of that age as compared with 18.5 
per cent in 1900, 17.4 per cent in 1890, and 14.7 per cent 
in 1880. It is thought that the increase between 1900 and 
1910 is probably largely due to different " instructions to 
enumerators." The following table shows the distribution 
of the women employed in the various industrial divisions. 



Agriculture, forestry, and animal hus- 
bandry 

Extraction of minerals 

Manufacturing and mechanical in- 
dustries 

Transportation 

Trade 

Public service (not otherwise classi- 
fied) 

Professional service 

Domestic and personal 

Clerical occupations 



Ntjmber 



1,807,501 
1,094 

1,820,980 
106,596 

468,088 

13,558 

733,885 

2,530,846 

593,224 



Per Cent Distbibutb 



22.4 
Less than -i^ of 1 

22.5 
1.3 

5.8 

0.2 

9.1 

31.3 

7.3 



The following may be given to show that the employment 
of women covers almost the whole field of industry, and 
that it is by no means restricted to those industries which 
have been regarded as their peculiar province. Amongst 
the women employed in industry there were, according to 
the last census, seventy-seven lumbermen, raftsmen, and 
woodchoppers ; forty -five quarry operatives; thirty-one 
blacksmiths, forgemen, and hammermen; fifteen brick and 
stone masons; thirty-eight carpenters; ninety-two electri- 
cians and electrical engineers ; ninety-three machinists, mill- 
wrights, and tool makers ; 117 molders, founders, and casters 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 223 

(metal) ; 782 shoemakers and cobblers ; twenty-four tinsmiths 
and coppersmiths; seventy-three draymen, teamsters, and 
expressmen; six hostlers and stable hands; 3453 laborers 
(railroad, steam, and street) ; forty-four longshoremen and 
stevedores; fifty-two switchmen, flagmen, and yardmen; 
2643 bankers, brokers, and money lenders; five civil and 
mining engineers; 250 bar tenders; 1491 saloon keepers, 
in addition to 478,027 teachers, 1,309,549 servants, and 
263,315 stenographers and typists. 

Effect of war upon employment of women. In Britain 
and continental Europe the present is a time of stress and 
strain. What it will mean in the future history of the 
industrial employment of women time alone will show. In 
a hundred ways women, inspired by motives of patriotism, 
are performing services they never have performed before. 
The girl grocer may mean another gunner. The woman 
who drives a motor van frees a craftsman for the making 
of munitions. To the women of continental Europe serv- 
ice of this kind comes naturally, and when the men go 
to fight, the women " carry on '' at home. Thousands of 
them can be seen any day in the fields. They are plow- 
ing and sowing, or herding sheep and cattle. Women are 
running the industrial and commercial life of continental 
nations, owing to peculiar independence of training and cer- 
tain political, social, and economic conditions, and these 
conditions are reacting on all parts of the British Empire 
with results which none can foresee. On the way from 
Boulogne to Paris, women are seen guiding the plow. Down 
south the flower farms and perfume stills are managed by 
women. The business life of Paris is mainly in female 
hands. In countinghouses and shops, on trams and rail- 
ways the French women replaced their men with quiet assur- 



224 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ance, while husbands, brothers, and sons went to fight, many 
of them never to return. It is the same in Flanders, where 
sturdy maids harness themselves to heavy barges and plod 
along the towpath, thanking God they have released not 
a man, but a horse to help in the war. German women, 
too, are mobilized for this great clash of the civilizations. 
Women are cleaning the streets, raking the gutters, and 
loading the refuse into wagons. On the Bavarian railroads 
there are female pointsmen and wardens of the level cross- 
ings, who accost cars, examine papers, and act as special 
constables besides. In Russia and Italy the women plow, 
and sow, and reap, as a matter of course. Nor is Switzer- 
land any playground for its maids and matrons. The 
majority of them are independent and could run the Waldorf 
Astoria if the necessity arose. These ladies inherit busi- 
ness brains, and from early years drink in from the mountain 
air matters of profit and loss and general affairs of manage- 
ment. Prussia has woman navvies on her state railways 
— stalwart gangs leveling the tracks and shoveling earth 
with a vigor that shocks what we are pleased to call our 
finer sensibilities. 

The scarcity of men labor is also affecting the higher 
professions. In a recent number of the leading English 
medical journal forty-two announcements appeared of 
important posts for which medical women would be ac- 
cepted, but there was not one available. But this great 
war has given woman's life a new turn. She has seen five 
great hospitals at the war front entirely supplied and main- 
tained by her own sex. She has seen skilled women driving 
motors in the London streets and almost on the battle line 
at a wage and allowance far above the ordinary. Gone for- 
ever then is the helpless woman in a world of endless oppor- 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 225 

tunity for energy and industry. Other girls — young dress- 
makers and actresses out of work through the war — 
learn toy making with chisel and saw. When proficient, 
they will teach the trade in the small towns and villages, 
thus setting up a home industry like that which once brought 
Austria and Germany millions of dollars a year. 

Nothing shows better the changes that have come about 
in English ideas and practice than the fact that even at 
the Athenaeum club, that resort of learned statesmen and 
holy bishops, girls are employed to serve tea and coffee on 
the drawing-room floor. London alone has sent more 
than a thousand male teachers to the trenches, and women 
are doing their work, even in the secondary schools, where 
they have now appeared for the first time. In fact no 
matter where one looks in Great Britain and on the conti- 
nent of Europe one finds work being done by women that 
has never before been done by them, and in the majority 
of cases being well done. Of course, there are many cases 
of inefficiency, but this is due to lack of training and not to 
any inherent inability in the sex to do the work. 

After the war is over a large number of these women will 
return to the homes from which they came, but a large 
number also, it may be expected, will not, owing to the non- 
return of the men whose places they are filling. But whether 
these women retain their places or not is of little importance 
in this connection. The fact of supreme importance is 
that women will have demonstrated that they can fill effi- 
ciently many positions in which they have not previously 
been found, that they can do work which was formerly con- 
sidered out of their province and beyond their power, and 
that in addition they can do all this without the loss of 
that grace, dignity, and womanhood which highly civilized 

Q 



226 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

people associate with the sex. The industrial face of 
Europe will be changed in regard to sex in industry, and the 
change cannot fail to materially influence the industrial life 
of the American continent. Women are in industry to 
stay, and the situation must be accepted. It remains for 
us to consider how they may be best fitted to perform the 
duties that will inevitably fall to their lot. 

First appearance of women in outside industries. One of 
the best accounts of the history of women in industry is 
contained in Volume 9 of the report on The Conditions of 
Women and Child Wage-earners in the United States, and 
from that account the following particulars are adapted. 

The first appearance of women in industry, apart from 
their employment in domestic service, was in the manu- 
facture of textiles. Even in the home this was their recog- 
nized occupation from time immemorial, and it seems quite 
natural that it should also be the first employment in which 
any large number of women worked for wages outside the 
immediate family circle. Even as barbarians the women 
manufactured our clothing, and this is one of the customs 
we have carried over. In 1791 Alexander Hamilton, in his 
report to Congress on manufactures, spoke of the "vast 
scene of household manufacture " and stated that in a 
number of districts it was estimated that two thirds, three 
fourths, and even four fifths of all the clothing of the inhabit- 
ants are made by themselves. As late as 1810 Gallatin 
estimated that " about two-thirds of the clothing, includ- 
ing hosiery and of the house and table linen worn and used 
by the inhabitants of the United States who do not reside 
in cities, is the product of family manufacture." 

Dr. Helen Sumner divides the history of women employed 
in the cotton industries into three periods: that of hand 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 227 

labor before the use of improved machinery, lasting from the 
first settlement of the country until 1787 when the first 
cotton mill, which was in reality simply a spinning mill, 
was erected at Beverly, Massachusetts; that of the use of 
spinning machinery before the use of the power loom, which 
period began with the introduction of improved spinning 
machinery run by water power, and ended with the erection 
of the first complete cotton factory containing both spinning 
and weaving machinery at Waltham in 1814; that of the 
complete textile factory, a highly organized institution in 
which all branches are carried on under the one roof, extend- 
ing from 1814 to the present time. 

Early vocational education for women. Public senti- 
ment was never very actively opposed to the employment 
of women in textile industries, and such employment was 
advocated on religious and moral grounds. It was argued 
that it would employ women and children who would other- 
wise " eat the bread of idleness," and the establishment of 
" spinning schools " was one of the favorite methods of 
relieving poverty in the early colonial days. A petition 
presented to the Massachusetts Legislature by the company 
which established the Beverly factories stated that " it 
will afford employment to a great number of women and 
children, many of whom will otherwise be useless if not 
burdensome to society." 

This industry is interesting from the fact that it provided 
one of the earliest attempts to give vocational training to 
women. In 1718 a number of Irish spinners and weavers 
arrived in Boston with the " implements of their craft." 
"Directly the ^spinning craze' as it was aptly called, took 
possession of the town ; and the women young and old, high 
and low, rich and poor flocked into the spinning schools. 



228 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

which for want of better quarters were set up on the com- 
mon in the open air. Here the whir of their wheels was 
heard from morning to night." 

In 1721 a spinning school was built in Boston for the in- 
struction of poor children. In March, 1770, a memorial 
was presented to the General Court of Massachusetts by 
William Molineux, who, for the purpose of relieving the 
poor of Boston, had caused about four hundred spinning 
wheels to be made, " and hired a number of rooms for spin- 
ning schools as also a number of mistresses to properly teach 
such children, and so successful has been his endeavor that 
in the course of the summer, not being able to continue 
through the winter's cold season, he had learned at least 
three hundred women and children to spin in the most com- 
pleat manner; and has constantly employed to this day 
all such as jvould work and paid them their money to a large 
amount." 

Generally speaking, it is perfectly safe to say that before 
the introduction of the factory system, practically all the 
spinning and a large part of the weaving, whether for the 
home or the market, was done by women and girls. Through 
the period of spinning machinery to the present complex 
factory system women and girls have found extensive em- 
ployment; and a writer in the Banner of the Constitution 
said in 1831 : '' There is in fact no other market for this 
description of labor ; there is no other mode in which so 
far as national wealth is concerned it can be made productive 
at all. The improvements in machinery have superseded 
all household manufactures so entirely that labor devoted to 
them so far as useful production is concerned is as much 
thrown away as if it were employed in turning so many 
grindstones. . . . Take away the employment of females 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 229 

in the different branches of manufacture, chiefly in cotton 
and wool and there is also no market, no demand for the 
great mass of female labor existing in the community. It 
is an inert, unproductive, untried power — an unknown 
capability." 

Divided opinion on the emplo5nnent of women. Notwith- 
standing the fact that the employment of women in spinning 
and weaving was advocated on moral and philanthropic 
grounds, their progress in gainful occupations has been slow 
and difficult. While the work of man is limited only by 
his capacity and endurance, that of woman is hampered 
by tradition as to what she should do, and what she should 
not do. As early as 1829 opinions were divided much along 
the same lines as they are to-day. In that year the Boston 
Courier contended that women should have their full share 
of the world's labor and be adequately remunerated for 
participating therein. The writer says : " Custom and long 
habit have closed the doors of very many employments 
against the industry and perseverance of woman. She has 
been taught to deem so many occupations as masculine and 
made only for men, that excluded by a mistaken deference 
to the world's opinion from innumerable labors most hap- 
pily adapted to her physical constitution, the competition 
for the few places left open to her has occasioned a reduction 
in the estimated value of her labor, until it has fallen below 
the minimum and is no longer adequate to present comfort- 
able subsistence, much less to the necessary provision against 
age and infirmity or the everyday contingencies of mor- 
tality." 

On the other hand, the national trades union was strongly 
opposed to the employment of women in industry. One. 
of the leaders of the union hoped that the time might soon 



230 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

come " when our wives, no longer doomed to servile labor, 
will be the companions of our fireside and the instructors 
of our children, and our daughters reared to virtue and use- 
fulness become the solace of our declining years." He 
urged women to form trades unions and raise their wages 
until " half the labor now performed will suffice to live upon 
. . . and the less you do," he added, '' the more there 
will be for the men to do and the better they will be paid for 
doing it, and ultimately you will be what you ought to be, 
free from the performance of that kind of labor which was 
designed for man alone to perform." 

The opposition of organized labor, though strong and 
insistent, has not been strong enough to overcome the 
need of women for remunerative employment and the desire 
of employers for cheap labor. In addition to these causes 
forcing women into industry, there are the introduction 
of machinery, the division of labor, the introduction of 
women as strike breakers, wars, and industrial depres- 
sions. The condition of working women to-day in regard 
to skill and efficiency is probably worse now than it was in 
the days when they obtained all their training in the house- 
hold. It now becomes the business of education, industry, 
and legislation to supply that skill and efficiency which is 
required for the so-called skilled industries, and to lighten 
the toil and brighten the lives of that large number who are 
engaged in monotonous unskilled industries with little hope 
of escape therefrom. 

Trade schools for girls. Trade schools for girls are of 
course not as numerous as those for boys, and outside one 
or two notable exceptions, for reasons which have been pre- 
viously referred to, there has not been, until recently, any 
inclmation to establish such schools. Those schools which 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 231 

have been established, notably the Manhattan Trade School 
for Girls, and the Boston Trade School for Girls, have 
directed attention to the social and economic problems of 
the wage-earning woman, and there is now a decided tend- 
ency to consider fully the needs of girls in regard to their 
vocational training for industry outside the home. 

The attempts that have been made, hitherto, to establish 
such schools have been largely restricted to dressmaking 
and millinery, owing to a general idea that girls should have, 
or were demanding, these subjects. In too many cases 
they have been introduced with little knowledge of local 
industrial conditions, hours of labor, wages paid, chances 
of steady employment and opportunities for growth and 
promotion within the industry. In many localities there 
are other industries which offer much better opportunities 
for girls than either dressmaking or millinery. The prep- 
aration of girls and women for occupations in which their 
training is stopped, where they are allowed to do only 
the unimportant and mechanical parts of the work with the 
consequent low wages, or in which there are no Opportunities 
for promotion either within or without the industry, is 
useless and should never be undertaken. 

In considering the question of vocational education it 
has become the fashion to blame the schools almost exclu- 
sively. While admitting that the schools are urgently in 
need of reform along vocational lines, it is yet also true that 
many of the industries that are calling for labor, both skilled 
and unskilled, are themselves in need of considerable reform 
before it will be wise to train girls to enter them. 

Need for investigation. There is an epidemic of school 
investigations and educational surveys, and the whole 
educational world seems to be infected with " surveyitis." 



232 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Indeed it has been suggested that a survey of school surveys 
should be made. It is high time that the industries them- 
selves were investigated with a view to discovering the oppor- 
tunities they offer for girls, and the conditions in them that 
need change before we are justified in establishing courses 
to equip girls for them. Whatever the necessity for the 
present commercial methods of production, we have no right 
to stunt the bodies or cramp the minds of the producers. 

It should not be forgotten that the success or failure of 
any system of vocational education depends largely, if not 
entirely, upon conditions outside the school. A thorough 
study of local conditions is absolutely essential, particularly 
in the industries themselves, before industrial schools for 
girls are organized in any community. Many surveys have 
been made with special reference to the industrial education 
of boys and men, but a tendency is now noticeable not only 
to give adequate attention to the requirements of girls 
and women in general surveys, but also to conduct special 
investigations into those industries in which women are 
most largely employed. Surveys of the latter class have 
been conducted by the National Society for the Promotion 
of Industrial Education as follows : ^ 

In Troy a careful study of the collar and cuff industry 
was made, together with a consideration of the department 
stores, and the new vocational school and its opportunities 
for cooperating with existing industries and social agencies. 

In Grand Rapids an investigation was made of the voca- 
tional opportunities of girls and women, with an analysis 
of the industries under the heads of skilled, semi-skilled, 
and unskilled. 

1 Report of the Commissioner of Education. 1914, Bureau of Education, 
Washington. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 233 

In New York City the dress and waist industry was studied 
with a view towards the establishment of part-time instruc- 
tion. This industry employs more than thirty thousand 
workers, more than 80 per cent of whom are women. The 
industry was analyzed, the occupations studied, and plans 
for a part-time factory school, together with plans for 
financing and managing the same, were presented to the 
Dress and Waist Manufacturers' Association and the In- 
ternational Ladies' Garment Workers Union, Local Num- 
ber 25. 

Surveys have also been conducted in New Orleans and 
Cincinnati. 

It is vital to know whether children and parents will 
patronize a school which trains for specific trades, and also 
what type of training should be given in order to insure 
employment when the child is once trained. Dr. Susan 
M. Kingsbury ^ gives an illustration of the danger which 
may arise through attempts to solve these problems without a 
thorough understanding of the locality. In the city of Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts, which has more than one hundred 
thousand inhabitants, a large number of girls begin work at 
fourteen years of age, and one might reasonably suppose that 
they should be trained for dressmaking, millinery, and ma- 
chine operating. But a closer study shows that the city 
of Cambridge is industrially dependent on Boston, that the 
woman does her buying and the man does his producing 
there, that all the industrial opportunities of Boston are 
open to the girl of Cambridge, and that therefore the whole 
situation of Cambridge must be considered in its relation 
to Boston. Owing to its suburban and residential character 

1" Trade Education for Girls." Nat. See. for Promotion of Industrial 
Education, Bulletin No. 13. 



234 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

there are many laundries which employ a large number of 
women. 

On the other hand, a near neighbor of Cambridge, with 
almost as close a car connection with Boston as has Cam- 
bridge, seems to support people who are ready and able to 
patronize shops nearer home, which causes a demand for 
dressmakers' and milliners' shops the success of which is 
distinctly different from that in Cambridge. The city of 
Worcester has a purely local problem. It is an independent 
entity from an educational, economic, and industrial point 
of view. Cambridge and Somerville cannot become inde- 
pendent, and only by the closest cooperation with the city 
of Boston can the people of these two cities meet the require- 
ments of their girls. ^ 

Vocational training for the fourteen to sixteen year old 
girL This is the most pressing and most difficult problem 
of vocational education. Fewer opportunities are offered 
to the girl under sixteen years of age, either education- 
ally or industrially, than to any other group of children, 
and this training is urgently needed, since the large ma- 
jority of children leaving school at this age become indus- 
trial workers. The problem here is to reconcile the practical 
demands of highly specialized and subdivided industry with 
the educational needs of the child. On the one hand, 
we have the fact that the industry demands one-process 
workers, and on the other, the equally obvious fact that if 
this demand is met, the worker will be stunted and pre- 
vented from becoming increasingly efficient. It may be 
said that the first step in training children of this age 
for industry is to keep them out of it, and in an ideal 

1 "A Trade School for Girls." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1913, No. 17. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 235 

state of society this would be done, but at present it is not 
possible. 

The committee undertaking the vocational survey of New 
York believes that it has a solution of the diiBculty above 
mentioned and expresses that solution in the phrase " abil- 
ity to adapt/' that is, the ability to adapt from one special- 
ized process to another. The report says, " But ability to 
adapt must be based on broad training and understanding 
of the principles underlying the various specialized forms 
of work. The industrial worker needs such background 
knowledge as much as the professional man, if he is to keep 
his footing in changing industrial conditions, and industry 
needs such background knowledge from its workers if it 
is not to be flooded with inefficient workers who are the 
product of its own premature and excessive specialization. 

"We believe therefore that if the schools are to train 
workers who are to be continually efficient, it is important 
to lay the foundation of such training with children under 
sixteen by teaching them the fundamental principles that 
are common to many trades, rather than to teach them 
only one trade or process which may have disappeared five 
or ten years after such children leave school. 

" This plan is practicable because : all specialized machines 
and processes have come from certain simple forms. Spe- 
cialization represents variation in principle of these simple 
forms. This variation is due to the demand for different 
kinds of products. We believe, therefore, that it is of 
practical importance for schools to make a first-hand detailed 
study and analysis of selected processes in selected indus- 
tries in order to determine what are the fundamental prin- 
ciples common to the various types of industrial work, to- 
gether with their variation according to different products. 



236 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Such analysis should give conclusive data as to the funda- 
mental industrial training that is needed if workers are to 
become increasingly efficient.'^ ^ 

In the small city the problem is not so complex, for there 
the industries are still carried on more nearly as wholes 
and have not become merely series of processes. " We 
must study the industries with a view to discovering those 
principles and processes that are common and fundamental 
to the largest number of occupations. These should be 
arranged and grouped for instructional purposes and so 
taught as to develop general adaptability." ^ 

It is one thing to plan schools, and quite another to get 
the children there, and induce them to stay long enough to 
obtain something worth while. It is stated that when five 
hundred girls between fourteen and sixteen years of age in 
Chicago factories were asked, " If your father had a good 
job so that he could have afforded to have kept you in 
school, would you prefer to stay in school or go to work in 
a factory? " 412 replied that they would still prefer to 
work in the factory.^ 

Reasons for leaving school. In these democratic days 
the child herself decides whether she shall leave school or 
not, and once she actually leaves and gets out of touch with 
educational affairs it is very difficult to persuade her to 
attend school again. We flatter ourselves that we have 
made the school so interesting and pleasant that all the 
children like to attend, but, after all, Shakespeare's picture 
of the whining schoolboy going unwillingly to school is still 



1 Industrial Arts Magazine, November, 1914. 

' Report of the Commissioner of Education. 1915, Bureau of Education, 
Washington. 

• Education, December, 1913. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 237 

true in many cases. The Minneapolis survey showed that 
the reasons given for leaving school were as follows: ill 
health, 5.7 per cent ; '' had to go to work," 35.5 per cent ; 
child's desire to earn money, 8.2 per cent ; opportunity to 
keep vacation work, 2.6 per cent; dislike for school or lack 
of interest in it, 29.5 per cent; trouble with teacher, 3.1 per 
cent; failure to pass, 1.1 per cent; belief that further school 
work was not worth while, 14.2 per cent. 

The Russell Sage Foundation in its investigations in 
New York City reports that the great loss of pupils from the 
public schools is due to four chief causes : (1) lack of adjust- 
ment between the length of the compulsory school period 
and the length of the school course; (2) preventable ill 
health or removable physical defects; (3) irregular school 
attendance ; (4) the courses of study were either too difficult 
or were not adapted to the average pupil. Even if schools 
for the fourteen to sixteen year old girl be established as 
they ought to be, certain steps will have to be taken if the 
attendance is to justify the expenditure of public money. 
Some of these measures are the removal from the minds of 
the children of their traditional dislike of the school, the con- 
vincing of the parent that continued education is well worth 
while from a financial point of view, —for it is from this 
standpoint that a large majority of the parents still judge 
an education, — and lastly, raising the school age to at 
least sixteen with safeguards against undue hardships. 

Part-time education. Steps have already been taken 
in several states to secure at least part-time education, 
between the fourteenth and sixteenth years, of those who 
have left school at fourteen years of age or younger. An 
example of a law designed for this purpose is that of the 
state of Ohio. The superintendent of schools has delegated 



238 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

to the Schmidlapp bureau the power to issue work certifi- 
cates, and every child who leaves school to go to work must 
pass through the office of this bureau, and the passage is 
rendered as difficult as possible. The following is the 
method of procedure : 

1. The principal of the school fills out a blank containing 
particulars of the pupil's scholarship, habits of work, etc. 

2. The birth record must be secured from the pastor of 
the church where the child was christened, or confirmed, or 
from the bureau of vital statistics of the place where he 
was born. 

3. A health record must be secured from the board of 
health. This record includes family history, personal his- 
tory, and the more important physical tests of heart, lungs, 
vision, hearing, etc. 

4. A contract has to be secured with the employer. This 
is one of the most valuable points in the Ohio system. The 
employer agrees that he will employ the child not more 
than eight hours a day, six days in the week, between the 
hours of 7 A.M. and 6 p.m. ; that he will cooperate with the 
school board in obtaining the attendance of the child at a 
continuation school as long as the child shall be under six- 
teen years of age, and in his employment, provided the child 
has not completed the eighth grade ; that he will return the 
work certificate to the office within two days of the child's 
dismissal or withdrawal from his employment, giving the 
reasons therefor. 

The Ohio continuation-school law states that " in case 
the Board of Education of any school district establishes 
part-time day schools for the instruction of youth over 
fourteen years of age who are engaged in regular employ- 
ment, such Board of Education is authorized to require all 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 239 

youth who have not satisfactorily completed the eighth 
grade of the elementary school to continue their schooling 
until they are sixteen years of age ; provided, however, that 
such youth, if they have been granted age and schooling 
certificates and are regularly employed, shall be required 
to attend school not to exceed eight hours a week between 
the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the school term." ^ 
Dr. Sadler has pointed out that in planning continuation 
and trade schools it is important : 

1. To plan the school course so as to permit pupils to 
enter any given trade at the right age. 

2. To arrange the last period of work in the elementary 
school and the first stage of the trade-school course in close 
coordination. 

3. To coordinate the last year's work in the trade school 
with the system of apprenticeship or learning followed in 
the trade in order to avoid waste of time in starting work. 

4. To watch the state of the markets as to the number of 
persons employed in various trades and the possible dangers 
of too early and too definite specialization in schools ; this 
can only be done by keeping in touch with trade require- 
ments and by the help of employers and labor organizations. 

5. To appoint the right kind of teachers. 

Coordination is the note* of the whole solution — coordi- 
nation between elementary schools, prevocational schools, 
trade schools, factories, the attitudes of teachers, parents, 
employers, and trade unionists. ^ 

Training for some industries seems impossible. Con- 
trary to the opinion of many educational authorities, there 
are some industries for which no educational training out- 

1 Davis, Vocational and Moral Guidance. 

* Sadler, Continuation Schools in England and Elsewhere, 



240 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

side the workshop seems at present possible or desirable, 
and there are others where the operations are so simple, 
monotonous, and mechanical that no training seems nec- 
essary. The New York factory investigating commission ^ 
states that in the solid box industry, in which 73.16 per cent 
of all the workers are females, that " short unit courses 
might profitably be offered for prospective foremen of card- 
board and paper cutting departments and for employees 
within these two departments. No vocational training is 
recommended for employees in any of the other depart- 
ments." In the manufacture of folding boxes it is concluded 
that " no vocational training is necessary for any employees 
save perhaps die makers and pressmen." From the above 
quotations it will be seen that there is a variation in the 
amount of training it is desirable or necessary to give, and 
the conditions in other industries are much the same. 

Miss Van Kleeck says that in bookbinding, machines 
dominate the industry .^ Women have nothing to do with 
the planning or designing; their tasks are mechanical and 
highly specialized. Speed, good team work, and facility 
in a mechanical process are all that is required. Em- 
ployers and workers alike state that they can see no scope 
for supplementary training with a definite vocational bear- 
ing, for women in this industry. At first sight it looks 
as though this would mean the abandonment of all attempts 
to give industrial education to women engaged in these and 
other trades. It does not mean this, however, but it does 
indicate that much study and careful experiment will be 
necessary to work out any satisfactory plan. Many inves- 
tigations have been made into industries regarding sanitary 

1 Report of the New York Factory Commission, 1916, Vol. 4. 

2 Van Kleeck, Working Girls in Evening Schools. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 241 

conditions, hours of labor, wages paid, and general condi- 
tions of employment ; but what is wanted now is investiga- 
tion into what has been called the " educational content " 
of the different industries, that is, " those things that are 
required to be known and that can be taught, either by 
theory, or by carefully arranged practice lessons, or by a 
combination of both theory and practice." Such investiga- 
tions have not yet been made to any considerable extent. 

The educational content of industry. Perhaps the most 
comprehensive piece of work that has been done in this 
direction is in the dress and waist industry by Cleo Murt- 
land in collaboration with C. A. Prosser. This investiga- 
tion is described in " Conciliation, Arbitration, and Sani- 
tation in the Dress and Waist Industry of New York City," 
published by the United States Bureau of Labor. The 
investigation was undertaken owing to "a growing con- 
viction on the part of those actively engaged in the promo- 
tion of industrial education in New York City that the 
body of the workers in the garment trades, are, under 
present conditions at least, to be reached and trained through 
the use of part-time schools." This industry employs 
nearly thirty thousand workers, of whom fifty-four per cent 
are women. The general plan of the investigation was 
as follows : 

1. To study the industry as to the kind of work the women 
are engaged in, what opportunities there are within the 
trade for self -development and earning power, and the possi- 
bility of learning the trade while employed in the industry. 

2. To evolve a scheme of training that would satisfy the 
worker's demand for self-development and trade craftsman- 
ship, and the industry's demand for trained workers. 

3. To present a plan for the establishment of a part-time 

R 



242 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

school that will command the support of the workers, the 
manufacturers engaged in the industry, and the public. 

The occupations within the industry and the opportu- 
nities offered by them were studied by means of visits to a 
number of factories, interviews with foremen, workers, and 
employers, and by personal observations of the girls and 
women at their work. 

Like many other industries of the present day, the dress 
and waist industry is made up of a number of allied trades, 
depending on each other because of -their contribution to 
a common product, and a number of auxiliary occupations 
which play an important part in production, but which are 
not strictly speaking an integral part of any one of the 
trades. The industry is divided into three main branches, 
— the non-operating, including cleaning, finishing, examin- 
ing, pressing, assorting, joining, draping, designing, and cut- 
ting in an ascending scale of importance; the garment- 
operating occupations (in some grades of the trade many 
in number, in others few), body making, center making, 
closing and hemming, or binding and felling, sleeve making, 
sleeve cutting, collar making, collar setting, trimming, lace 
running, and skirt making ; special machine operations, which 
include tucking, hemstitching, buttonhole making, and 
button sewing. Other special machine work occasionally 
appears in the industry, but not frequently enough to justify 
workers specializing on it as they do in the four men- 
tioned. 

The report gives a minute analysis of every one of the 
occupations and points out the qualities demanded in 
the workers, and the knowledge they should have. The 
methods by which a young girl enters the industry and the 
line of promotion are then detailed, together with wages 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 243 

paid, length of working year, and demand for workers. 
All of these factors play their part in determining the char- 
acter of the education demanded by the workers in the 
industry, and may fairly be regarded as standard informa- 
tion required to be known about every industry before a 
practical scheme of education for it can be evolved. If this 
be true, it will readily be seen that many of our attempts at 
industrial education have been initiated almost in the dark, 
and have achieved some measure of success owing to the 
fact that any kind of education is better than none. It is 
to be hoped that all our future efforts at special education 
for any industry will be based on accurate data sympa- 
thetically contributed to by employers, employees, and edu- 
cational authorities, as it is only by such cooperation that 
the highest success can be achieved. 

The factors which make up the educational content of 
this industry have been classified as follows : general 
knowledge, trade knowledge, technical knowledge, and 
manipulative skill. 

General knowledge is taken to mean a usable knowledge 
of English, a workable knowledge of arithmetic, writing, 
and hygiene, and general intelligence resulting from home, 
school, or business training, together with judgment and 
reasoning ability. 

Trade knowledge is frequently termed " tricks of the trade '* 
and '' short cuts " gained through long practical experience, 
and handed on from worker to worker as accepted methods 
of work, but seldom the result of accurate technical knowl- 
edge. It may also be called " rule of thumb," and every 
trade has a certain measure of it. 

Technical knoioledge is organized knowledge based on 
underlying scientific principles. 



244 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Manipulative skill, frequently called ''knack/* is the 
efficient use of the body as a whole and in part so as to get 
successful and rapid results. Touch, as in handling fabrics 
of different texture, also forms an important part of manipu- 
lative skill. 

The minimum of general knowledge required of workers 
in the trade is as follows : 

Arithmetic: simple counting to two hundred or three 
hundred ; simple addition in order to account for amount of 
work done ; simple multiplication ; fractional parts of the 
dollar ; the dozen, the inch, and the yard. 

Writing : clear handwriting and the making of figures. 

Hygiene : sufficient knowledge of the care of the body to 
enable workers to attain physical efficiency. This includes 
posture, breathing, cleanliness, food, fresh air, dress, special 
hygiene for women. 

English : reading and writing of simple English. 

Elementary art : color sense sufficient to match colors in 
thread. 

General intelligence : which enables the worker to under- 
stand directions and to make necessary adjustments for 
changes of style in garments. 

The special demands in regard to the general knowledge 
of the rank and file of the garment workers as detailed above 
are extremely limited, and if this were all, " the situation 
would be deplorable " ; but it is said that in addition to this 
specific knowledge the industry makes heavy demands on 
the general intelligence of the workers, varying in amount 
according to the operations in which they are engaged. 

Organization of a factory school. A detailed analysis is 
made in the same way of the trade knowledge, the technical 
knowledge, and the manipulative skill required of the workers 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 245 

in the industry, and the report concludes with a proposed or- 
ganization of a factory school to give the kind of training 
that the investigation discovered to be necessary. Such a 
school will, of course, differ materially from one of the or- 
dinary type. It must be organized as a modern factory, 
rather than a school as that term is ordinarily understood. 
It should have a well-equipped factory workroom for the 
trade work and an office for carrying on the work of the 
school according to approved business principles. Rooms 
for class instruction are also necessary, as it generally will 
be impossible to give instruction in the workroom because 
the machines and workers are spread over a large area. 
These classrooms should be equipped with plain tables and 
chairs like a workroom and not with desks like a school- 
room. They should also be as close to the factory work- 
room as possible, so as to maintain a vital connection and 
be considered an integral part of the organization. The 
business office of the school, in addition to its regular ac- 
counting system, should keep systematic records of the 
attendance and work of the girls. 

The instruction should be given by women of experi- 
ence and skill in the trade, for they will not only have to 
instruct and manage the girls, but will also have to turn out 
work in good condition and on time. It is suggested that 
the qualifications for a trade teacher should be two to five 
years' experience in the kind of work to be taught, and the 
equivalent of a grammar school education. The maximum 
number of pupils allowed to a trade teacher should be twelve. 
The class instruction must be given by those who know how 
to teach and have a thorough knowledge of the trade. They 
must study the trade day b}^ day, and keep the class in- 
struction running parallel with the work that is being turned 



246 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

out from the shop. The arithmetic, English, reading, etc., 
must be made a vital part of the trade work, and this can 
be done only by the closest attention and application to 
those phases of the trade in which the subjects have their 
direct application. In the classroom the groups may per- 
haps be doubled up ; that is, a teacher may give instruction 
to groups of twenty-four. The art instruction should be 
given by an expert in industrial art and its applications, 
and the materials for illustrative purposes should be gar- 
ments and other material from the workroom. Health 
talks by nurses and physicians are all-important, and may 
do much to improve the general health and happiness of 
the worker, as well as to prevent the loss of time and wages 
caused by absence through sickness. 

It is proposed to divide the time as follows : trade work 
seventeen hours per week, classroom instruction three hours 
per week, civics and business ethics one hour, and health 
lessons one hour. The two latter subjects are given a short 
amount of time for actual class work, but it is intended 
that they shall be correlated with the other instruction and 
be made to function through the whole of the workroom 
practice. 

/ The plan proposed is to be carried out by a cooperative 
I arrangement between the Dress and Waist Manufacturers* 
^ Protective Association of New York City, Local No. 25 of 
the International Garment Workers' Union of New York 
City, and the Executive Committee of the National Society 
for the Promotion of Industrial Education. The following 
are the main points of the agreement suggested : the Board 
of Control is to be made up of two representatives of the 
manufacturers, two representatives of the union, and three 
persons representing the public, nominated by the National 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 247 

Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education. The 
school at first is to deal only with girls over fourteen years 
of age who are already employed as cleaners and finishers 
in the industry. The locality of the school is to be close 
to the center of the industry, and it is to be operated in 
terms of three months, open every day in the week except 
Sundays and the holidays recognized in the trade. The man- 
ufacturers' association is to furnish the material and dispose 
of the products when finished. The girls sent to the school by 
the manufacturers are to attend for four hours a day for six 
days a week for three months, and while in attendance at 
the school are to be paid at the rate of six dollars per week. 
Certificates will be granted to all who finish the course satis- 
factorily, and the holders of such certificates are to be given 
preference over all others in selecting persons for employ- 
ment, promotion, or retention in slack times. Certificated 
girls are entitled to the following rate of wages : nine dollars 
a week for the first month, rising a dollar a month to the 
fourth month, when the wages are to be twelve dollars per 
week. 

If such a plan as the above can be satisfactorily carried 
out, it will have blazed a trail in showing the kind of investi- 
gation needed and the action that should follow the results 
of such an investigation. The plan contains an element 
that hitherto has been largely lacking. It recognizes that an 
inevitable result of industrial training must be an increase 
of wages for those who are trained. Directly the workers 
can be made to see that the training will show in the pay 
envelope, then they will seize every opportunity offered to 
take the training provided. 

The next problem to be considered is the problem of 
the unskilled worker. This is one of the neglected prob- 



248 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

lems, but the large number of workers who are employed 
in unskilled occupations, and the tendency by subdivi- 
sion and specialization to increase the number, make this 
problem a vital one, and it will be considered in the next 
chapter. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 

I. What is a skilled occupation? 

II. The modern factory system. 

III. The problem common to all countries. 

IV. Recruiting unskilled workers. 

V. Industrial future of the unskilled. 

VI. Seasonal nature of women's trades. 

VII. Remedies proposed. 

VIII. The earnings of children. 

IX. Adjustment of industry to new conditions. 

X. Physical training and recreation. 

Vocational education has been described as the production 
of skilled workers, and in the attempt to produce these, we 
have almost lost sight of the unskilled, and seem to have 
come to the conclusion that the future of our industries 
depends on the number of skilled workers we can produce. 
This conclusion ignores the present and possibly future 
character of our industries. There are probably more 
than twenty million workers in the United States who are 
engaged in unskilled occupations,^ which are always over- 
crowded, and while it is not possible to state how many 
of these are girls and women, it is highly probable that a 
large proportion of them are. If these figures are only 
approximately true, the problem of the unskilled worker is 
one which is fraught with danger to the commonwealth 

^ Report of Royal Commission on Industrial and Technical Education, 
Ottawa, 1913. 

249 



250 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and transcends in importance even the question of the 
production of skilled workers. 

What is a skilled occupation? At a recent conference 
of school officials called by the Secretary of the National 
Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education the 
following was adopted as a tentative definition of a skilled 
occupation : ^ 

A skilled occupation is one which meets these three 
conditions : 

1. Provision of a living wage for the worker. 

2. A content which offers the possibility of differences 
in the quality of the work turned out. 

3. Provision for promotion by constituting one of a series 
of progressive steps in the industry leading to something 
better. 

Space will not allow of an analysis of this definition, but 
if it be accepted, as it should be, the opportunity for the 
use of skill in the industries, particularly the factory indus- 
tries, is very small. If rigorously applied, it means probably 
that fully eighty per cent of the persons employed in factory 
production are in unskilled occupations, and it is perhaps 
folly to expect these industrial conditions to change materially 
in the immediate future. Automatic machines work cheapl}^ 
and an expensive machine requiring a skilled operator will 
not be installed if one can be obtained that can be run by 
a novice. Manufacturers will not make opportunities for 
skilled labor for the purpose of promoting vocational educa- 
tion. Industries are not philanthropic institutions; they 
are run for the sole purpose of making profit. 

The modem factory system. Visit a large canning and 
pickling factory, and what do you see ? Girls spending nine 

^ Industrial Arts Magazine, April, 1914. 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 251 

and a half hours a day, five and a half days a week, fifty- 
two weeks in the year sorting pickles according to size. 
Where does any opportunity for skill come in? Others, 
by the aid of a cleft stick, pack olives in bottles without 
any change or variation the livelong day. Other girls 
wash bottles, place the labels on them, wrap them and 
pack them in cans. These girls work in groups of six or 
eight. They sit at a table, in the center of which is a travel- 
ing belt. The first girl washes the bottle and places it on 
the belt, the next puts the paste on the label, the next puts 
the label on the bottle, the next puts the paste on the edge 
of the wrapper, the next puts the wrapper on the bottle, 
the next one inspects the job, and the last one puts the 
bottle in the crate. As the gang is paid by the number of 
crates they pack in a day the wages of each girl depends 
not only on her own speed, but also on that of the speed of 
the others, and so every girl rushes every other girl, in order 
to earn as much as possible. Cases of this kind could be 
multiplied by the hundred. These girls do not change their 
jobs, as this would lessen their speed and decrease the output. 
It is this modern factory system which has transformed 
the highly skilled trades of a century ago into the industries 
of to-day, in which the great majority of the occupations are 
low grade skilled, or unskilled. Miss Anna Hedges, in her 
study of 617 girls engaged in factory operations, became so 
depressed at the fact that the girls entering industrial oc- 
cupations were doomed to spend their time on one small 
process that she exclaimed, " Trade schools belong to the 
past when preparation for trades was needed." ^ The survey 
of the educational and industrial possibilities of Richmond, 

1 "Problems of Vocational Education in Germany." United States Bureau 
of Education, Bulletin, 1915, No. 33. 



252 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Virginia, an important industrial city having a population 
of 135,000, frankly recognizes this situation when it states, 
*' There is no need or possibility of a girls' trade school for 
Richmond," ^ owing to the comparatively small demand 
for highly skilled labor. Mr. Howard Cheney of South 
Manchester says : " When we have made the most liberal 
estimates which it is possible for us to conceive of, the 
skilled trades are going to draw upon not over one third of 
the pupils who are going to work after they leave school. . . . 
The remaining two thirds are going to work in industries 
requiring a low or medium grade of skill." 

The question then is. What can vocational training have 
to do with weighing tacks, with clipping threads, with filling 
bottles, with ticketing garments, with wrapping candy, with 
sorting screws, and many other kinds of work of a similar 
character which our industries offer to the large majority 
of girls they now employ ? Skill is not easily defined, as it 
varies according to the industry. In many cases it simply 
means speed in processes such as sewing on buttons, folding 
pamphlets, or operating an envelope machine. In straw- 
sewing, machine embroidery, and the making of lace skill 
means accuracy and delicacy of touch. In the work of a 
designer or the work of a forewoman, in addition to deftness 
of hand the term " skill " includes imagination, organizing 
ability, and general intelligence. 

The problem common to all countries. The problem of 
the unskilled worker is common to all countries where in- 
dustry is highly specialized and subdivided. In those 
countries that have resisted the factory system and retained 
in a large measure the handicraft system, the problem is 

» "Vocational Education," Survey of Richmond, Va. Department of 
Commerce and Labor, Washington. 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 253 

not so acute. In Germany it is said that thirty per cent of 
the industry is still carried on under the handicraft system, 
while in the United States it has fallen to three per cent. 
Even Germany, whose example we have had preached at us 
for the last twenty years, has not satisfactorily solved this 
problem. In relation to this a pamphlet issued by the " Girls' 
and Women's Bureau of Cleveland " says : " We see Germany 
with its years' old complete system of education and trade 
training throughout its cities and towns, so that the boast 
is made that it is a difficult thing for the working-class 
German child in a German city to escape a vocational train- 
ing. In 1908 in Munich 2200 boys left the highest ele- 
mentary school grade and 2150 of these went into skilled 
work. How then has Germany, in training all for skill, 
found enough skilled work to go around ? And what has be- 
come of mechanical jobs ? Germany, to utilize her trained 
workmen, has drawn skilled work from other countries 
until the phrase ' made in Germany ' has become a by-word 
of the nations. She has stolen jobs for the skilled workers ; 
and she has stolen workers for the mechanical jobs. She 
has solved the problem for Germans, but she has not solved 
it for humanity. It is encouraging to know that on the 
one hand practically all German workmen are skilled; 
but, on the other, in 1908, one hundred thousand foreigners, 
chiefly Italians, were doing Germany's unskilled jobs. And 
Germany has carefully restricted these foreigners from 
advancing to the detriment of Germans. Thus she has 
merely sidestepped the chief problem — the unskilled in 
industry." 

Recruiting unskilled workers. Now it will be the wisest 
policy for us to recognize the fact that unskilled work is 
here to stay, and to boldly face the problem that this large 



254 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

number of unskilled workers forces upon us. In this con- 
nection the first question to be considered is, Where do these 
unskilled workers come from, and how is this large army 
recruited? There can be no manner of doubt that it is 
recruited largely if not entirely from the great number of 
children leaving school at too early an age. Theoretically, 
the gublic schools should be so attractive and so effective, 
that when once a girl enters, she should continue at least 
until the elementary course is finished, but that this is not 
the case is shown by the contention of Dr. Leonard P. 
Ayres that forty-nine per cent of the children on the average 
entering the schools of fifty-nine cities of the United States 
leave before entering grade eight — ^the final elementary 
grade ; while Dr. E. L. Thorndike holds that on the average 
in sixteen of our largest cities two out of every three with- 
draw without having done more than the work of the 
seventh grade. 

Take the situation in a typical city — Indianapolis.^ 
The department of attendance of the board of education 
reports that for 1913-14, under the new law requiring work- 
ing certificates for persons between fourteen and sixteen 
years of age, there were issued by the department permits 
to work to 857 different boys and 653 different girls, a total 
of 1510 children between fourteen and sixteen years of age 
who had left school to go to work. Of this number 152 
boys and 127 girls secured two certificates during the year ; 
forty boys and twenty-eight girls secured three certificates ; 
ten boys and three girls secured four certificates ; two boys 
and one girl received five certificates ; two boys received six 
certificates, and one boy had the distinction of getting seven 

1 "Part-time Education in Indianapolis." Chamber of Commerce, In- 
dianapolis. 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 255 

different jobs, for which he secured working certificates dur- 
ing the year. At this rate of leaving school there would be 
in five years 7550 children who had left school between 
fourteen and sixteen years of age. The grade of advance- 
ment of these children is significant. Twenty-nine boys and 
thirteen girls were under the sixth grade ; 265 boys and 
136 girls were in the sixth grade ; 238 boys and 154 girls 
were in the seventh grade; 130 boys and 116 girls were in 
the eighth grade, and 195 boys and 234 girls were above 
the eighth grade. 

Take another illustration.^ The following table shows 
the educational status of 7854 girls who are now working. 
The figures were obtained during an investigation of the 
working girls attending the New York evening schools. 





Women Employed in 




Grade at Leaving 
School 


Manu- 
facturing 
and Me- 
chanical 
Pursuits 


Trade 
and 
Transpor- 
tation 


Domestic 
and Per- 
sonal 
Service 


Profes- 
sional 
Service 


No Gain- 
ful Oc- 
cupation 


Total 


Number who left : 

In first grade 

In second grade. . . . 

In third grade 

In fourth grade .... 

In fifth grade 

In sixth grade 

In seventh grade . . . 
In eighth grade .... 
Elem. sch. grad. . . . 
High sch. non-grad. 
High sch. graduate. 


4 

9 

10 

51 

196 

397 

528 

196 

499 

133 

4 


1 

1 

11 

44 
181 
353 
255 

1683 
901 

74 


3 
2 

5 
13 

9 
15 

7 
11 

4 

1 


3 

4 

20 

14 

107 


4 

8 

33 

96 

185 

343 

189 

682 

524 

41 


4 
17 
21 

100 

349 

772 

1242 

651 

2895 

1576 

227 


Total 


2027 


3504 


70 


148 


2105 


7854 







1 Van Kleeck, Working Girls in Evening Schools. Russell Sage Founda- 
tion, New York. 



256 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The table shows the school grades reached by the girls 
in the different occupational groups. In professional serv- 
ice seventy-two per cent graduated from the high school ; in 
manufacturing and mechanical pursuits only a small fraction 
of one per cent (0.2 per cent) so graduated. Among the fac- 
tory girls one third left school when in the sixth year or be- 
low, and nearly three fifths before reaching the eighth year. 
In trade and transportation seventy-six per cent finished 
the elementary grades and twenty-eight per cent went to high 
school, from which, however, only 2.1 per cent graduated. 
In the ranks of women at work in domestic and personal 
service only twenty-three per cent had completed the ele- 
mentary school course and only thirty-three per cent had 
ever gone beyond the seventh grade. 

The conclusion seems warranted that the girl who leaves 
the elementary school before completing the grades is most 
likely to earn her living in factory work, or in domestic and 
personal service, while if she completes the grades, she will 
be more likely to find employment in trade and transporta- 
tion, and if she finishes high school, she is on the road to 
some kind of professional work. The further conclusion is 
drawn that only the first seven grades in the schools under 
present conditions are in contact with the majority of the 
future employees in the factory industries. 

Industrial future of the unskilled. The question now 
presents itself as to the immediate industrial future of these 
children who leave school at this early age. Let us take 
a few typical examples. In Wisconsin ^ it is said that there 
is a group of about four thousand girls with an average of 
fifteen years, earning an average wage of little more than 
three dollars per week. They are employed in candy making, 

1 Industrial Arts Magazine, September, 1914. 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 257 

canning and bottling, hand finishing and sewing for tailors 
and knitters, spinning, spooling and winding, machine knit- 
ting, taping, net weaving, turning gloves and linings, pasting 
and labeling, cash and messenger service, etc. Out of the 
four thousand girls five hundred hold the same job less than 
one month; one thousand hold the job less than three 
months; one thousand less than six months, and barely 
twenty-five hold the same job for two years. A large num- 
ber of these young workers drift from place to place, and 
never become really proficient in any one thing. The in- 
stability of these young workers is a problem in almost all 
industries and cities. " One half the girls," ^ remarked the 
superintendent of a large corset factory in Worcester, " get 
discouraged before they reach the point of maximum speed, 
and quit when they are probably just about to strike a pay- 
ing point." A large rubber factory in Watertown, adjoining 
Cambridge, which employs 1600 workers at any one time, 
reports that 4500 were on the pay roll in one year. A 
jewelry factory in Somerville reports that five out of every 
six workers leave in a year; another says that the whole 
force shifts every year. " The monotonous repetition of 
work, inability to meet the demands of the trade, ineffi- 
ciency, discouragements, and the seasonal fluctuations 
are producing an army of fluctuating, unskilled, low-paid 
workers which involves many industrial, economic and social 
complications." 

Seasonal nature of women's trades. Trades for women 
are very largely seasonal ; that is, for a certain period there 
is slack work or no work. The New York Factory Investi- 
gating Commission reports that twenty-five per cent of the 

1 "A Trade School for Girls." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1913, No. 17. 

s 



258 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 



workers in the confectionery trade are dismissed immediately 
after Christmas, and in the shirt industry there is a fluctua- 
tion of thirty-three per cent. Eighteen large department 
stores in New York City employed, in their busy season be- 
fore Christmas, about fifty-six thousand people and in the 
slack season during the summer about thirty-five thousand 
— a difference of about twenty-one thousand people. The 
usual number employed is about forty-two thousand. 
In the confectionery and paper box industry three times 
as many people as the firms ordinarily employ at one time 
enter and leave the industries. Out of 3983 workers em- 
ployed in the millinery shops only seventeen per cent ap- 
peared on the pay roll of any one shop forty weeks or longer 
in the year studied, while only fifty-two per cent worked 
eight weeks in the same shop. 

In the department stores the shifting of employees is very 
great. One of the large stores in New York City hired 
over 12,000 employees in one year in order to maintain a 
permanent force of little over 3000. The fluctuation in 
seven of these stores is shown as follows : 



Average No. Employed 


No. Added 


No. Dropped or Leaving 


5,000 


5,500 




4,296 


5,979 


6,712 


3,750 


12,150 


10,382 


3,500 


8,155 


8,750 


3,497 


875 


940 


2,313 


2,967 


2,539 


4,272 


6,809 


6,712 1 



Take the following to show how this works out in the case 
of individuals. These examples form part of the industrial 

^ Report of New York Factory Investigating Commission, 1915, Vol. I. 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 259 

history of a boy and girl drawn from records kept in Mil- 
waukee. 

A Girl Fifteen Years op Age 

Sept. 17, 1913 Western Leather Co. 

Oct. 1 Badger Candy Co. 

Oct. 3 O. C. Hansen Mfg. Co. 

Oct. 8 Unemployed. 

Oct. 9 Robt. A, Johnstone Co. 

Oct. 19 Campbell Laundry Co. 

March 10, 1914 Unemployed. 

A Boy Fifteen Years of Age 

April 21, 1913 Morawetz Co. 

July 9 Unemployed. 

July 12 Cutter-Hammer Mfg. Co. 

July 25 Unemployed. 

Aug. 2 P. G. Braun Glove Co. 

Oct. 2 Unemployed, 

Oct. 3 F. Elder Fur Co. 

Jan. 22, 1914 Unemployed. 

Jan. 27 Pepak Bros.^ 

The chart on the following page shows the seasonal fluctua- 
tions of employment in seventy-five association shops in the 
cloak, suit, and skirt industry of New York City as shown by 
the weekly pay rolls for all productive labor, August, 1912, 
to July, 1913. The average weekly pay roll for the year 
equals one hundred. 

The bearing of the above examples on the question of un- 
skilled labor is this, that the workers who are dismissed most 
quickly are the low-paid, unskilled workers who can least 
bear being out of work, and it is from the ranks of those who 
leave school early that these unskilled workers are most 
largely drawn. The question now is, What must we do to 
be saved? 

^ Industrial Arts Magazine, August, 1914. 



260 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 





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Remedies proposed. The remedy generally proposed for 
this condition of things is the industrial training of the girl 
in order that she may become a skilled worker. It has 
already been pointed out that in innumerable processes no 
skill is required. Far more important and far-reaching 
than the lack of skilled workers is the lack of opportunity 
to use skill in the various industries. The problem cannot 
be solved by the production of more skilled workers, unless 
at the same time we increase the opportunities for using skill, 
and this is an industrial problem rather than an educational 
one. 

Reduce the supply of unskilled labor. The first requisite 
in solving this question is to reduce the supply of unskilled 
labor, and this can be done in two ways : (1) by enforcing 
the present laws regarding compulsory attendance, and 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 261 

(2) by raising the age of compulsory attendance to sixteen 
years. The Commissioner of Education reports that of 
twenty-five miUion children of school age (five to eighteen) 
less than twenty million are enrolled in school, and that the 
average daily attendance does not exceed fourteen million 
for an average school term of less than eight months of 
twenty days each. The average attendance of those en- 
rolled in the public schools is only 113 days in the year. 
In ten states less than two thirds of the school population 
are enrolled. In seventeen states less than two thirds of 
those enrolled are in average daily attendance. In twenty 
states the average length of a school term is less than one 
hundred days. In forty-two states the average attendance 
is less than one hundred days, in nineteen states less than 
seventy-five days, and in five states less than fifty days. 

From these figures we can only come to two conclusions, 
either that compulsory laws do not exist in regard to ele- 
mentary education, or that if they do exist they are not 
enforced. It is sometimes said that, in view of the life for 
which the girl is to be trained, we need a new type of teacher. 
Perhaps this may be true, but we also need a new kind of 
attendance ofiicer, one who will without fear or favor en- 
force the laws and secure the attendance at school of every 
child in his district, regardless of whom it may offend. 
When the existing laws are enforced, then, and not till then, 
will it be justifiable to raise the age of compulsion to sixteen 
years. 

Notwithstanding all our educational surveys and propa- 
ganda, the average parent has yet to be convinced that edu- 
cation for the girl beyond fourteen, and sometimes even up to 
fourteen is not a waste of time as far as wage-earning power is 
concerned. It is folly to go on expecting that we can change 



262 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

this attitude of the parent by moral suasion. The law must 
be invoked and the employment of children before reaching 
the age of sixteen be made illegal. When this can be done, 
the question naturally arises as to the type of education to 
be given in the two years thus gained. These two years 
must be devoted to studies along prevocational and voca- 
tional lines, the methods of which have not yet been fully 
worked out. Hopeful experiments in this direction are now 
being made, and there is reason to believe that from some 
of these experiments a scheme will be evolved which will 
meet the needs of a large majority of the girls, who for 
various reasons are not able to proceed to higher institutions 
of learning. 

Raise the school age to sixteen years. Assuming that 
the present laws can be rigidly and impartially enforced, and 
that education of a satisfactory vocational type can be 
evolved for the years fourteen to sixteen, the raising of the 
age to sixteen is quite justifiable. Two main objections are 
urged against this, the first being that it would cripple a large 
number of the industries that now employ little girls to 
do their unskilled labor; and the second is, that it would 
inflict great hardship upon a large number of parents who 
need the earnings of these young children. 

With reference to the first objection it may be said that 
young human life is too precious and too vital to the future 
welfare of the nation to be cramped into a mold to meet 
the demands of subdivided, highly specialized, and com- 
mercialized industries. The industries should exist for the 
girl and not the ghl for the industries, and until this view 
is recognized the education of our girls will not be such as 
is demanded by a real civilization. There is even more 
justification for raising the age in the case of the gu'ls than 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 263 

there is in the case of the boys. The girls are the future 
wives and mothers of the race, and upon their physical 
perfection, state of health, and poise of mind, the future of 
that race depends more than it does upon the commercial 
success of our industries. That this future of the race is 
imperiled by the too early entry of young girls into indus- 
tries will not be questioned by those who know anything 
of the conditions under which much of their work is done. 
Girls should be prohibited by law from all trades which 
menace their physical and moral well-being. The trades 
remaining should be carefully selected on the basis of labor 
demand, opportunity for advancement in efficiency and 
remuneration, their effect upon womanly instincts and 
domestic tastes ; and in the trades thus selected they should 
receive as careful training as that given to boys. 

Continued education. Some states, such as Wisconsin, 
have already made a beginning in the direction of continued 
education for the fourteen to sixteen year old girl. Here they 
have a measure of legal compulsion for the permit worker 
fourteen to sixteen years of age and the power to levy a tax 
of half a mill on each dollar of the assessed value of the city 
to support the work. It is found that these permit workers 
are " practically all poor readers, poor spellers, inaccurate in 
their mathematical processes, and apparently without the 
general knowledge which they would be reasonably expected 
to possess in view of their age and years in school." ^ About 
four hours a week are given to this work from the employers' 
time, and that without loss of pay. This is justifiable on 
the ground that such continued education makes the em- 
ployee more intelligent, and thus of greater value to the 
employer. In addition to such compulsory classes there 

^ Industrial Arts Magazine, August, 1914. 



264 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

are other classes of a voluntary character, such as classes 
for saleswomen. In Milwaukee a class of young women from 
the department stores attends school, one half of each day 
for a period of three months, and is taught by an expert 
saleswoman who has been specially trained for this work. 
In addition some of the teachers go out to the stores to 
meet larger groups of clerks for the discussion of their store 
problems. If measures such as these were generally adopted, 
the transition to compulsory education up to sixteen years of 
age would be rendered easier of accomplishment. 

Training away from unskilled jobs. The unskilled occupa- 
tions to which we have been directing attention are, in 
normal times, always overcrowded, and there is apparently 
no need of training in order to obtain sufficient workers. 
At present there has not been discovered any body of re- 
lated study in arithmetic, drawing, science, art of any kind, 
that can be given to these workers that will make them 
more skilful, as in the majority of cases it is speed and not 
intelligence that is required. Hence the problem is, in 
nearly all cases, to train them away from the thing they 
are doing over towards another occupation, or away from 
illiteracy, or near illiteracy, and towards self-improvement, 
or deal with them through some kind of educational recrea- 
tion. Dr. Miinsterberg, in his book Vocation and Learning, 
says : " The ideal fulfillment of the economic work of the 
nation ought to be the inspiration for every one who 
does a useful piece of service even in the humblest posi- 
tion. . . . The toiler's attention may be absorbed by the 
unpleasant drudgery of his labor or by the pleasant gain at 
the week's end, but in his deepest mind he ought never to 
forget that he is helping along that wonderful work of 
economic achievement which gives worthy meaning to his 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 265 

industrious days. . . . Paths of ideal achievement are 
open before every one, poor or rich, well versed in high 
studies or trained by humble education, in the metropolis, 
and on the farm, boy or girl. And whoever feels the need 
of the ideal fulfillment will gain enduring happiness in his 
vocation, whether he be the director of the company, or the 
office boy, whether she be the college president or the kitchen 
girl/' 

No system of education or course of instruction that was 
ever yet planned, or ever will be planned, can accomplish 
the impossible. What " enduring happiness '' can there be 
in stuffing olives in bottles for nine and a half hours a day? 
What " paths of ideal achievement '' by sorting onions for 
the same length of time? In addition to the unpleasant 
character of much of the unskilled work, it is characterized 
by extreme monotony and excessive speed. A catcher in 
a cigarette factory during a day of ten hours will catch and 
examine from 130,000 to 150,000 cigarettes, and in hand 
packing of cigars it is said " the movements soon become 
mechanical so that the packer keeps her hands and body 
moving unconsciously even when she is not packing." ^ 
The report from which the above is quoted is full of in- 
stances of such extreme monotony and speed. 

In the confectionery industry it is found that a hand 
dipper must coat about fifteen pounds, say 720 pieces, of 
cream candy with chocolate per hour, or one piece every 
five seconds, to earn fifteen cents. A girl to earn six dollars 
a week in the paper box industry must paste paper strips 
on the sides of six thousand boxes or one every half minute. 



1 "Women and Child Wage Earners in the United States," Vol. 18. 
Department of Commerce and Labor. 



266 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

To earn $6.50 a week a shirt maker must join the backs and 
fronts of 5208 shirts.^ An inspector of boxes in a box factory 
inspects thirty thousand boxes a day, looking for twelve 
separate defects on each box. Her wage is six dollars a 
week.^ The time must soon come when the conditions as 
to speed and hours of women workers will be regulated by 
stringent laws as the true relation between fatigue and 
efficiency becomes better known. 

It is very hard for a girl engaged in these and kindred 
occupations to think that she " is helping along that won- 
derful work of economic achievement which gives worthy 
meaning to industrious days." The only satisfaction ever 
got out of work of this character is the weekly pay envelope, 
and too often that is miserably small. Let us frankly recog- 
nize that there is little pleasure to be got out of such jobs, 
and while endeavoring to give these workers a wider out- 
look outside their jobs, make every effort to train them 
away from them. 

The earnings of children. The argument that the earn- 
ings of these young children are needed by their parents is 
not borne out by the facts in a large number of cases. It is 
difficult to discover the exact situation owing to the fact 
that no one as yet has accurately determined how to either 
measure or define economic pressure, and in most investiga- 
tions yet conducted the statements of the parent and the child 
are the only sources from which data have been secured. 
There is a wide divergence in the results of these investiga- 
tions. Take the following as illustrating this difference of 
opinion : 

^ Report of New York State Factory Investigating Commission, 1915, 
Vol. 1. Albany. 

s Ihid., Vol. 5. Albany. 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 267 

" Three hundred and eighty out of a total of 530 or seventy- 
two per cent left school on account of economic pressure." ^ 

" That ' money was needed ' was volunteered generally 
as a reason more than any other and a real need for the 
child's earnings often exists." ^ 

" A table is given showing that out of a total of 620, 186 
or thirty per cent left school because of economic pressure." ^ 

" Of 214 families studied fully one half the girls were not 
forced to curtail their education and fifty-five per cent were 
living in really comfortable homes." ^ 

" Forty per cent of these families declared they wanted 
their children to remain in school and what is more tragic, 
sixty-six per cent of them could have kept them there. Those 
who left school from necessity were 2450 out of 5549 (forty- 
four per cent)."^ 

" Out of this number 330 (fifty-two per cent) gave lack of 
money as the prime cause of leaving school." ^ 

" On the basis of the government's standard of income only 
twenty per cent of the children had to leave on account of 
economic pressure." ^ 

" Only twenty-seven per cent of the families were believed 
to require the earnings of the children, while seventy-three 
per cent apparently had no such economic need." ^ 

1 "A Plea for Vocational Training." The Survey, August 7, 1909. 

2 "The Working Girl from the Elementary Schools in New York." 
Charities and the Commons, February 22, 1908. 

3 " Condition of Women and Child Wage Earners in the United States," 
Vol. 7. Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington. 

4 "A Trade School for Girls." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1913, No. 17. 

6 Report of Massachusetts Commission on Industrial Education, April, 
1906. 

« Talbert, Ernest L., Opportunities in School and Industry for Children 
in the Stockyard District. 

' Report of Superintendent of Schools, New York, 1912. 
8 Survey, August 9, 1913. 



268 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

It will be seen that the estimates in these investigations 
vary from twenty per cent to seventy-two per cent. The 
variations are probably caused by the different methods of the 
investigators and the varying conditions in the different locali- 
ties in which the investigations were conducted. Where 
hardship is really felt by the withdrawal of the child's earn- 
ings, this hardship might be avoided, or considerably lessened 
by scholarships or maintenance allowances. This plan has 
been found to work well on a limited scale in the Manhattan 
Trade School for Girls, New York, and the Boston Trade 
School for Girls. The state would be fully justified in mak- 
ing such allowances. The fact that the child's earnings are 
needed in some cases is often due to the fact that several 
members of the same family are engaged in unskilled labor, 
the wages for which are low. Thus the problem of the un- 
skilled meets us at every point. 

Adjustment of industry to new conditions. When the 
supply of unskilled labor fails, industry will accommodate 
itself to the change, and by a process of readjustment find 
different work for those who are now employed in monoto- 
nous, soul-wearying tasks. The time when every worker will 
be able to find congenial employment is far distant. We 
cannot make sorting pickles, work in packing houses, more 
ideal to the workers by telling them how the onions grow 
or how the beast is fed; but shorter working hours must 
come, and this will give more leisure, and it is out of this 
leisure that the worker may find the " paths of ideal achieve- 
ment." For these workers we must have education for 
leisure or as it has been aptly called " avocational educa- 
tion." The mind which is allowed to remain stagnant will 
grow weeds, and thus become dangerous to the national life. 
It must be remembered that the operations in which many 



THE PROBLEM OF THE UNSKILLED WORKER 269 

of these workers are engaged become so mechanical that 
they are performed like the working of a machine, and re- 
quire no thought or mental process of any kind on the part 
of those engaged therein. 

The mmd and mental powers of the operator must be 
trained outside the industry in which she is engaged. The 
demand on the part of the public for vocational training 
is not only a challenge to the schools to give it, but it is a 
challenge more especially to the industries to provide oppor- 
tunities for the workers when the training has been given. 
As Dr. J. H. Finley, Commissioner of Education for New 
York State, says : " It is a challenge to each industry as to 
what it has to offer each boy or gu-1 whom it invites into its 
factory doors. A challenge to show a clean bill of health 
with respect to all such factors as opportunity for advance- 
ment, educational content, wages, hours, and hygienic 
conditions. If industry has been so developed that it leads 
to intellectual degeneration in its workers, it then becomes 
the duty of the state to correct and counteract the evil." 

Physical training and recreation. Classes for physical 
education and recreation are needed to counteract the wear- 
ing influence of monotony. The physical exercises should 
be different for those girls engaged in work that requires a 
standing position from those provided for girls engaged in 
work requiring a sitting position. Folk dancing, recrea- 
tional games, and physical drill to music could be made of 
great use. Considerable attention should also be paid to 
personal hygiene, and the amount and kind of food to main- 
tain efficiency. Many girls who will not attend classes for 
serious prolonged study may be reached through clubs, 
social settlements, and other organizations of a kindred 
nature, and where the school is used as a social center much 



270 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

may be done in this connection. Entertainment and recrea- 
tion is the main object of those who attend such classes, but, 
if properly handled, this may be made instructional and 
educational without interfering with the recreational char- 
acter of the work. Examples of activities of this kind are 
dramatic clubs, reading and story-telling clubs, embroidery 
clubs, fancy work clubs, etc. The moving picture machine 
may be made use of. The best literature is now being 
dramatized for this machine, and many famous classics are 
being introduced to the people in this way. The use of this 
means of education has hardly yet been touched. 

If the conditions portrayed above are only partially true, 
it becomes clear that no system of vocational education 
can be considered complete that does not provide training, 
though perhaps of a different kind, for the unskilled and 
low-skilled worker, as well as for those in the more highly 
skilled occupations. 



CHAPTER X 

TYPES OF SCHOOLS AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR 
THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING OF WOMEN 

I. Introduction. 

II. Differentiated courses. 

III. Prevocational schools. 

IV. Trade schools. 
V. The teacher. 

VI. Disposal of the product. 
VII. Part-time education. 
VIII. Women's Educational and Industrial Union, Boston. 

Introduction. The problem of the vocational education of 
girls and women is, as has already been pointed out, a twofold 
one, and this twofold purpose cannot in practice be sepa- 
rated. For the sake of convenience the question of instruc- 
tion in household arts for the purpose of training efficient 
housewives has been dealt with separately, and will not be 
further referred to here ; but it must be remembered that in 
every school of whatever type, for the industrial training of 
girls, this instruction must be given a place, and that in many 
cases this instruction may be given a definite industrial value 
which may be made of direct use for wage-earning purposes 
outside the home. 

The problem is still further complicated by the fact that 
owing to the economic position of woman as the consumer 
of the world's goods and the spender of her husband's money 
she should be given, whether she is to be a wage-earner or 

271 



272 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

not, a knowledge of the industrial conditions under which, 
and the processes by which, the world's goods are produced. 
When the woman recognizes her responsibilities as a con- 
sumer, when she refuses to buy goods that are produced under 
insanitary conditions and by sweated labor, many of the in- 
dustrial conditions of which we now complain will be removed 
and the problem of vocational education much simplified 
both for girls and boys. 

There are many groups of girls that have to be dealt with. 
Here we have a girl who has left school as an illiterate, and 
needs training in the elementary branches of a general edu- 
cation, so as to give her civic and domestic intelligence. 
Another is engaged in an unskilled occupation who has abil- 
ity for millinery or dressmaking and ought to be trained 
away from her job in a textile mill and fitted for the other 
work. Another has ability to take high school subjects, and 
is able to take the usual high school course leading either to 
college or the higher vocations. Another is engaged in some 
automatic process in a shop or factory with neither the ability 
nor desire to rise out of it, and should be given such directed 
recreation as would palliate the effects of her deadening em- 
ployment. 

It cannot be denied that, in general, courses of study have 
been organized solely with reference to the needs of the boys 
attending our schools. The first recognition of the fact that 
girls were girls, and, as such, needed, in some cases, a different 
curriculum, came with the introduction into the courses of 
study of manual training for the boys and household arts 
for the girls. The practical working of this principle has 
been strongly influenced by the conviction that for girls, as 
well as for boys, there was needed in the last two years of 
the elementary course a type of industrial training which on 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 273 

the one hand would prove a good introduction to the work of 
the trade school proper for those girls who were able to take 
such training, and on the other would give to those girls who 
were obliged to go to work immediately on leaving the ele- 
mentary school some ability to make a more intelligent choice 
of an occupation in those cases where choice is possible. 

Differentiated courses. In one of the public schools of New 
York City (No. 62, Manhattan) three courses were recom- 
mended for girls — academic, commercial, and industrial, 
which last included dressmaking, millinery, pasting, and 
novelty work or work on power machines. At the beginning 
of 7A grade the pupils are divided into three sections accord- 
ing to the course they wish to take. In the industrial course 
they devote nine weeks to each branch. These courses are 
designed to give the girl merely an insight into the different 
vocations in order to disclose her bent. 

Another experiment along the same lines is an industrial 
course for girls in the seventh year. This consists of two di- 
visions — academic and practical. In a year's course of one 
thousand hours, five hundred hours are devoted to academic 
work consisting of arithmetic, English, history and civics, 
geography, music, physical training, and hygiene. The 
practical course is divided into four groups as follows : (1) sew- 
ing — dressmaking, lampshades, millinery ; (2) machine oper- 
ating — embroidery, garments, straw ; (3) pasting— sample 
mounting and novelty work ; (4) domestic science — cookery, 
laundry, housekeeping. The time spent on this course is five 
hundred hours, and each girl works in each of the groups for 
ten weeks. If a girl shows special aptitude for any particu- 
lar line early in the term, she is not required to take all the 
other groups, but is at once directed to a school where she can 
specialize along that line. If a girl works through the whole 



274 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

course, she will thus get a glimpse of each of the four main 
groups of work in which women are engaged and be able to 
discover to some extent in what branch she has the greatest 
aptitude. 

Another example of such differentiated courses is found in 
Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The State Normal School offers 
to pupils from any part of the city, who have completed the 
sixth grade, the choice of four courses with one third of the 
time given to manual arts, household arts, or commercial 
studies. In the manual arts course (boys) ten hours a week 
are given to drawing and design, making and repairing. In 
the household arts course ten hours a week are devoted to 
work in domestic art and science. In the commercial course 
five hours a week are given to bookkeeping, business forms 
and procedure, business arithmetic and related design, and 
five hours to typewriting and handwork. In the literary 
course five hours a week are given to modern literature, and 
five hours to drawing, design, making and repairing for the 
boys, and household arts for the girls. In all courses twelve 
and a half hours a week are given to English, mathematics, 
geography, history, and science, and seven and a half hours 
to physical training, music, general exercises, and recesses. 
The literary course is designed for those who expect to enter 
high school and proceed to college. The other courses, while 
admitting to the high school, aim also to give a practical prep- 
aration for life work to those who expect to leave school at 
fourteen years of age. The school is in session thirty hours 
a week. 

The work in the industrial department is of a very practi- 
cal character. In household arts, while leading directly to 
the home, the work is of such a nature that it may be ex- 
pected to lead to many occupations in which women are 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 275 

engaged outside the home. Women are entering the field of 
food manufacture and service to such an extent as to open 
up many other lines of work for which girls can be trained, 
and in the near future it may be expected that the household 
arts courses in our schools will be given a more industrial and 
wage-earning trend, just as the manual training courses are 
now being modified in this direction. The work in type- 
writing has consisted in copying letters to industrial plants in 
various towns and cities, asking for catalogues and industrial 
exhibits, original letters to school children in different parts 
of New England, describing Fitchburg industries, and request- 
ing replies giving the same information regarding their cities, 
copying letters to parents explaining courses offered by the 
school, and various other kinds of practical work. 

Courses of the above character have the decided advantage 
of giving some definite industrial training, at the same time 
they prepare for high school ; thus leaving open the way to 
a higher education should a change in the circumstances of 
the family make this possible, or a change in the views and 
purpose of the girl render it desirable. 

Pre vocational schools. The type of school we have next 
to consider is the prevocational school. Most enlightened 
employers are now agreed that the boy or girl of fourteen to 
sixteen years of age is not an industrial asset, and that ef- 
forts should be made to keep them out of industry, and if 
this is to be done, other means than those now provided by 
the traditional high school must be evolved. A school of 
the prevocational type should take the girl at fourteen years 
of age and give two years' specific vocational training, the 
last of which might be specialized training in her self-chosen 
trade or industry. Such classes are not yet established in large 
numbers. Examples are to be found in Rochester, Albany, 



276 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and some towns of Massachusetts, but the courses in them are 
yet centered around the activities of the home and, outside 
perhaps dressmaking and millinery, do not attempt to pre- 
pare for specific industries. 

If these schools were generally established, they would 
probably reach a large number of boys and girls who now 
leave school at the age of fourteen, and supply a training that 
would give a better equipment to enter industrial life at six- 
teen. Such schools take their pupils at an age when the 
question of wages is not generally so important as later, and 
many parents would be willing to support their children at 
school for one or two years if convinced that practical benefits 
would follow. Herein lies the crux of the whole matter. The 
parents must be convinced that financial benefit will result 
to the future wage-earner before they will be willing to sup- 
port such schools. The employers who profess to believe 
that the girl of fourteen is not desirable in the factory must 
be willing to back up their belief by higher wages to the girl 
of sixteen, and the conductors of surveys could not do better 
than direct some of their attention to the greater wage-earn- 
ing capacity of the trained worker and show, if such can be 
shown, and we confidently believe that it can, that in a num- 
ber of years the total earnings of the trained greatly exceed 
those of the untrained. 

In the present economic condition of society sermons on the 
text ''Education for education's sake" fall on stony ground. 
There are many trades in which women are engaged for which 
training could be given, such as engraving, photography, 
millinery, garment making, embroidery, laundry work, 
cooking, institutional and lunch-room management. These 
subjects should be taught as trade subjects, and no form of 
glorified manual arts will meet either the needs of the pupils 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 277 

or of the industrial world. A prevocational school is, pri- 
marily, for the purpose of enabling pupils to select a vocation 
and secondly, to partially acquire it. They must be taught 
correct business methods, and not be allowed to dawdle and 
play with industrial elements or they will leave the school 
with false ideas of industry and of the part that economy 
of time and effort plays in the industrial world. 

Trade schools. Probably the most important type of 
school for the real vocational education of girls is that known 
as the '' trade school." This was once used as a term of con- 
tempt, as it was thought to imply a type of training fit only 
for those who were not competent to enter a high school, 
but the contempt has now been outlived, and even the high 
schools are giving considerable attention to the vocational 
element in their curricula. If conditions were ideal, perhaps 
no girl would ever need to attend a trade school with the 
idea of engaging in practical industry outside the home, and 
no girl would be allowed to enter a trade school under six- 
teen years of age, but conditions are not ideal, and many trade 
schools are forced by economic conditions and the needs of 
their constituents to admit girls at fourteen or even younger. 

Trade schools for boys have long been in existence, but 
trade schools for girls are not so old. Several of the schools 
now established were begun under private auspices, and after 
they had demonstrated their usefulness were incorporated 
into the public school system. 

The first trade school for girls in Europe. This was estab- 
lished in 1865 and is known as the Bischoffsheim^ school, 
situated in Brussels. Its main work is the teaching of the ar- 
tistic trades, and much attention is paid to drawing and paint- 

^ "A Glance at Some European and American Vocational Schools." Con- 
sumers' League of Connecticut. 



278 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ing. Girls are admitted as young as twelve years, though 
but few of this age are found in the school. The school 
specializes in the making of artificial flowers. The equipment 
is said to be so simple that it would be easy to introduce this 
industry for girls into American cities. The whole outfit 
occupies one medium-sized light room, and consists of several 
long plain wooden tables, two alcohol lamps, a glue pot, and 
a few small tools for each girl, fresh flowers in vases for models, 
and the materials out of which the flowers are made. A draw- 
ing is first made of the flower and of each part of the flower, 
and colored in exact tints, and from the drawing the artificial 
flower is constructed. Each girl learns how to mix the 
dyes so as to produce all kinds of neutral tints, and keeps 
a book of drawings and a notebook in which the method of 
making each flower is written down in detail. The flowers 
are sold to the stores, each girl receiving what is paid for her 
work. This school is a notable example of simple equipment 
thoroughly adapted to its purpose. 

Trade schools for girls in London. The day trade schools 
of the London (England) County Council are an excellent 
type. One of the best known of these is that at Blooms- 
bury.^ This is known as an all-day or pre-apprentice trade 
school, and was originally established by private enterprise 
as the Westcot Tailor Shop, and trained fifteen girls at one 
time. In 1907 it was taken over by the educational authori- 
ties of the city of London and incorporated into its system of 
schools. The purpose of the school is to fit girls for skilled 
employment and to offer improvement courses for those al- 
ready in the trade. Apprenticeship in the trades in the 
locality covers a period of two years (generally without inden- 

1 "Some Trade Schools in Europe." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1914, No. 23., 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 279 

tures) and the school gives this apprentice training in the 
same length of time. The industries will not take a girl under 
sixteen, but she can enter this school at fourteen and in two 
years is able to enter the trade with two years' training and 
no apprenticeship to serve. 

The entire direction of the school is in the hands of the 
London County Council, subject to the approval of the 
National Board of Education. The total annual cost of run- 
ning the school is twenty thousand dollars and is made up 
by a grant from the National Board of Education, a small 
amount from fees, and the balance by the London County 
Council. The fees are two dollars each term, of which there 
are three in the year. Scholarships, based on the wages that 
would be earned in the trade, are offered to assist needy 
parents to allow their girls to take the training. The courses 
are so arranged that the graduates of the school may enter 
the trade at the beginning of the busy season. 

The following trades are taught: corset making, ladies' 
coat tailoring, ladies' skirt tailoring, dressmaking, millinery, 
photography. These Were chosen because they appeared 
on inquiry to offer good prospects, to show a steady demand 
for competent hands, while not providing means within 
themselves to meet the demand, and to lend themselves to 
classroom work. The school accommodates 175 students. 
Every student has to serve a probationary period of three 
months, and at the end of the first year the parent or guardian 
is required to sign a declaration that it is his intention to have 
the child use the training for employment in the trade after 
graduation. No child is allowed to continue whose parent 
fails to sign this declaration. The probationary period is 
largely used for the observation of the girl as to her suitability 
for the trade she has chosen, and the school not only trains 



280 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

the girls for the industries, but carefully selects them, and 
thus many misfits are avoided. 

About two thirds of the time is given to actual trade in- 
struction on commercial work, and one third is devoted to the 
continued general education of the pupils in English, arith- 
metic, drawing, and hygiene, and physical exercises. This 
instruction is not the same for all, but is differentiated accord- 
ing to the trade taught. All the work of the school is con- 
ducted on a commercial basis. Orders are taken from private 
persons interested in the school, and the charge made covers 
the cost of the material and one third the market value for 
the making, which is decided by the teacher, who has had 
working experience in the trade. The school is open for each 
trade seven hours a day, five days a week, and forty-two 
weeks in the year. 

In addition to the day school there is also a continuation 
school department and there was originally an evening school 
department. The fees for these classes are graduated ac- 
cording to the earnings of the student. If she is employed 
in the trade, she is admitted without charge, on presenting 
a certificate from her employer ; if not, she is charged two 
dollars a session if earning over six dollars a week ; if she is 
earning less than six dollars the fee is one dollar per session. 
The experience of the evening department in connection with 
this school is interesting. The hours in the trades taught are 
usually nine, and the authorities of the school consider that 
girls working these hours cannot reasonably be expected to 
attend evening classes. The continuation school teaches 
dressmaking and millinery from 5.45 to 7.50 on two evenings 
per week, an apprentice wage being paid by the employer 
while the girl is receiving instruction, but the employers as 
a whole are not enthusiastic over this department. The 




Courtesy of Manhatlan Trade School for Girls. 

Glove Making. 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 281 

wage of a girl without training is for the first year 2^. Qd. to 
3s. per week and for the second year 5;?. per week ; but no 
difiiculty is found in placing all graduates of the school at 
10s. per week, and in many cases 125. has been received. 
Before a girl is placed, the applying employer is visited by 
the trade teacher, and unless conditions are satisfactory a 
girl is not sent. Each girl is carefully selected for the work 
required. The success of the graduates is shown by the 
fact that employers with whom the graduates have been 
placed apply to the school again and again for employees. 

There is a consultative committee of employers in con- 
nection with the school, but no organized placement depart- 
ment. The general direction of the school is in the hands of 
an advisory board, composed of men and women from the 
various trades. The entrance requirements for the day 
school are that the student must be at least fourteen years 
of age and have passed the seventh standard (junior fourth) 
of the general elementary school. 

There are other schools of this type throughout the city 
of London, and all the work is done under shop conditions, 
is kept in close touch with the trade world, and is far removed 
from the traditional aspect of a school. 

Manhattan Trade School for Girls. A school which has at- 
tracted world-wide notice is the Manhattan Trade School for 
Girls, New York — the first trade school in America for girls 
fourteen years of age. Every writer on the subject of indus- 
trial education has pointed to Germany when he wished to 
cite an example of what America should do in the way of 
training its workers, and it would be almost impossible to 
find any treatment of the subject which does not eulogize 
the system adopted in that country. There is more justifi- 
cation for using this school m the same way. It is purely a 



282 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

product of the American continent, and has blazed a trail. 
Its history and organization are typical of American con- 
ditions, possibilities, and requirements, and offer us many 
lessons and suggestions which we. cannot afford to ignore. 
Probably more has been written in magazine articles and edu- 
cational periodicals about this school than about any other 
school on the American continent. The materials for this 
sketch are drawn from two personal visits to the school 
in the early days, the Making of a Trade School by Mrs. 
Woolman, its first director, many magazine articles recording 
the impressions of various visitors, and the last annual 
report of the school. 

The school began its work in November, 1902, in a large 
private house which was equipped like a factory, and could 
comfortably accommodate 100 pupils. The trades selected 
centered round the needle, the paste brush, and the sewing 
machine. The school began with twenty pupils, but in a few 
months one hundred were on the register and others were 
applying. In June, 1906, new premises were purchased which 
could accommodate five hundred girls. The school arose out 
of a social study of the conditions of working girls in New 
York City. This investigation led to the following conclu- 
sions: (1) that the wages of unskilled labor are declining, 
(2) that the supply of skilled labor is inadequate, (3) that the 
condition of the young inexpert girl must be ameliorated by 
the speedy opening of a trade school for those who have 
reached the age to obtain working papers, (4) that if public 
instruction could not immediately undertake this, then pri- 
vate initiative must do it. 

The school began its work under great difficulties mainly 
arising from the following causes : first, employers were preju- 
diced against such schools because girls formerly trained 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 283 

in them had not given satisfaction when brought face to 
face with actual trade conditions, second, the parents felt 
they could not afford to send their children to school beyond 
the compulsory period. But these difficulties were gradually 
overcome as the girls demonstrated the worth of their train- 
ing in actual practice, and were able to take home a larger 
pay envelope. ^ 

The selection of the trades to be taught was made after 
five months' investigation in the factories, workrooms, and de- 
partment stores of New York City. The occupations chosen 
employ large numbers of women, require expert workers, do 
not provide facilities for training within themselves, pro- 
vide a chance to rise to better positions, and pay good wages ; 
and favorable physical and moral conditions prevail in the 
workrooms. Plans were made so that the workers in a sea- 
sonal industry could be enabled to shift to an allied trade 
when their own was slack. The most skilled operations were 
found to require the use of the sewing machine, foot and elec- 
tric power, the paint brush, the paste brush, and the needle, 
which last tool affects over one half of the women wage- 
earners in New York City. 

Academic training is given as part of the trade instruction 
with the object of developing industrial intelligence, and 
such physical training is given as medical inspection shows to 
be necessary. " It was soon discovered that girls entering 
the school know arithmetic in an abstract way, but are at 
sea when asked to meet the ordinary trade problems. They 
are inaccurate in reading and copying, they cannot write 
a letter of application, conduct correspondence, make out 
checks, or keep simple accounts. They are ignorant of the 
laws already made which concern them, or of their own re- 
lation to future laws. They have no ideals in trade life. 



284 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

They need to see the relation of their chosen trade to the 
country, their own work to their employer's success, the 
effect they may have in bringing about a better feeling be- 
tween the employer and the wage earner. A practical, imme- 
diately available business education is absolutely essential 
to make workwomen of executive ability. Therefore specific 
instruction in arithmetic, English, history, geography, and 
civics was planned to supplement and enrich the trade 
courses." 

The school authorities believe that the question of health 
is of supreme importance and that many New York girls are 
handicapped by poor physical condition. Each girl entering 
the school is studied individually, and the treatment she 
needs prescribed for her. Though this takes many hours a 
week from the department work, it is felt that the gain in 
health, physique, and power to stand the strain of the work- 
room more than compensates. Regular gymnastic practice 
forms part of the regular work, and particular attention is 
paid to the eyes, ears, nose, throat, and feet. Talks on 
hygiene aim to give the girl the knowledge to keep herself in 
perfect physical condition. 

The product of the three departments falls into three 
grades : (1) practice work, which not being up to the standard 
is ripped up and used again; (2) seconds — fair work, not 
quite up to the school standard for trade work (this is 
sold to students at cost or to needy institutions) ; (3) trade 
work up to the regular commercial standard (this is sold 
^,0 the trade or to private customers at regular market prices). 
This feature of the school work, entailing as it does the 
handling of money, varieties of orders from outside fac- 
tories, workrooms, and private customers, is considered a val- 
uable feature. The school is constantly urged by the trade 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 285 

to increase its order work, but it has adhered to its original 
policy of taking only the amount needed for educational pur- 
poses. 

The success of a trade school depends very largely upon the 
disposal of the students after graduation. Can they find 
positions and can they make good in these positions are vital 
questions, and if the answer to either is in the negative, the 
school cannot justify its existence. From the initiation of 
this school attention has been paid to the placement of the 
girl. At first the heads of the different departments at- 
tended to it, but as the school grew, other methods had to be 
adopted. An arrangement was made with the Alliance 
Employment Bureau to place the girls when they were 
ready to leave the school. This was only a temporary ar- 
rangement until the volume of business was great enough to 
warrant the opening of a bureau in the school itself, which was 
done in October, 1908, when a placement secretary was en- 
gaged. This bureau serves as a means of connection and 
communication between the school and the trades on the 
one hand, and the school and its former pupils on the other. 
It also assists in a material way in gathering data about 
trade conditions which are helpful to the several departments 
in their conduct of work, and in deciding school policies. 
The information gained by it prevents the school from 
wandering into all kinds of by-paths, which are not of direct 
value to girls who must become wage-earners. Criticisms 
from employers as to the way in which the girls are trained, 
ajid reports from the girls themselves as to weak places in 
their preparation are of the greatest value in keeping the 
school up to trade requirements. 

The work of the placement department proceeds along four 
main lines : interviews with girls and employers, trade visits 



286 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

of investigation, following up in keeping track of the girls 
after they are placed, and the keeping of various records re- 
garding the girls and their employment. Each girl is entitled 
to one position from the school without fee, and such posi- 
tion is supposed to be held two months to count as one place- 
ment. After the first placement the fee is twenty-five 
cents down, and twenty-five cents when the position ha§ been 
held two weeks. No fee is charged to employers. 

In placing a girl, the secretary gives her (a) a letter in- 
troducing her to an employer and (b) a blank form on which 
she is asked to report at once to the secretary whether or not 
she has taken the position, and again at the end of the week, 
stating what wages she is receiving. If the girl is under six- 
teen years of age, the letter to the employer calls his atten- 
tion to an extract from the labor law stating the time and 
the number of hours which fourteen to sixteen year old girls 
are permitted to work. The girl is given a list of instruc- 
tions as follows : 

*' The Manhattan Trade School requires no fee for placing you. 
It intends to see that you get as fair a chance to earn and to learn 
as your trade offers and your ability permits. 
In return it asks you two things : 

1. In case your position proves unsatisfactory 

Do not ' walk out.* Instead, report your complaint to us and 

wait for our reply before leaving. 
After receiving that reply you are entirely free to follow its 

advice or not as you see fit. 

2. Prompt reports. 

(a) A postal on the day you are sent to a place, saying whether 

or not you have taken the position. 
(6) A postal one week later reporting hours, wage, and general 

conditions. 

(c) If 'laid off' (no matter what the reason), report to us 

immediately ; in person if possible ; by mail if not. 

(d) Prompt return fully filled out of any blanks sent to you. 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 287 

A failure to comply with these requirements means loss of oppor- 
tunity for you, with great inconvenience to us, and if persisted in, 
results finally in an inability on our part to assist you as we would 
like to do." 

After the girl has been successfully placed, she is carefully 
followed up. Most good occupations for girls are seasonal, 
and the frequent " lay-offs " caused thereby make it almost 
impossible for a young girl to adjust herself to industrial con- 
ditions without assistance. This assistance the school stands 
ready to give for as long as the girl needs it, or until she is 
firmly established in her trade, and has gained sufficient 
maturity and experience to take entire care of herself. 

During the year 1914-15 nine hundred and forty-two ap- 
plications were received from employers requiring girls. By 
trades these applications were as follows : 

Dressmaking 537 

MiUinery 34 

Lamp shades 38 

Sample mounting 11 

Novelty 38 

Clothing operating 176 

Straw operating 22 

Miscellaneous 64 

Art 4 

A large number of girls who go to work at fourteen years 
of age are in actual need of the wages paid, and early in its 
history the school found that if it was to get the girls to 
attend for training, some kind of aid was necessary. At 
first this aid took the form of a scholarship paid at the 
school every week in equal amounts to each student. Then 
a month's apprenticeship without pay was required, and 
the girl given a dollar a week during her second month. 
This amount was increased each month according to the skill 



288 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and spirit shown in the work. The maximum amount a 
student could receive in one year was one hundred dollars. 
Later a further change was made, and a plan developed 
whereby the need of the girls became the only basis upon 
which money was given. No girl is ever permitted to leave 
the school because of poverty if she has aptitude for her 
work. A student aid fund is now provided by the Manhattan 
Trade School Board, so that all girls who are too poor to 
attend without financial help may continue in the school 
until their training is complete. During the year 1914-15 one 
hundred and forty-five girls were aided by this fund, the 
amount ranging from car fare to the approximate wage which 
the girl would earn in an unskilled job if she were obliged to 
go to work. 

In 1910 the school was incorporated into the New York 
public school system, and became a free public school. 
Though the school has now been removed from private con- 
trol, its founders, who were the pioneers for the entire coun- 
try in making trade training possible for young girl wage- 
earners, have not lessened their interest, and are still giving 
financial assistance in certain phases of the work which are 
not as yet supported by public funds. Ever since the 
school was taken over by the city, the Manhattan Trade 
School Board has paid the salary of a physician to make 
physical examination of all trade school girls; has con- 
tributed from five thousand dollars to seven thousand dollars 
yearly to maintain the student aid fund ; has given the equip- 
ment for the sale room ; has loaned free of charge about four 
thousand dollars' worth of equipment used in the trade depart- 
ments, and has assisted in supporting several new experi- 
ments besides giving much of the personal time and attention 
of its members towards promoting the work of the school. 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 289 

The trades now taught in the school are as follows : dress- 
making, millinery, clothing machine operating, straw machine 
operating, embroidery machine operating, sample mount- 
ing, novelty case making, lamp-shade making, French edge 
making, and cooking. Each trade course requires one year 
except that in millinery. A short course in lamp-shade and 
candle-shade making is included, as the seasons in millinery 
are short, and the girls who learn both trades can secure 
steadier employment. 

Most girls who apply for admission to the school have their 
minds definitely fixed upon learning a certain trade, but fre- 
quently they choose a line of work which they are not able 
to pursue, and as there is still a very general feeling on the 
part of elementary school principals and teachers that the 
trade school is a refuge for their dullest girls, a probationary 
period of five months is now provided, after which girls who 
prove unfit may be excluded from the school. It is found 
that a large number of girls who imagine they wish to learn a 
trade, find the immediate wage return offered by an unskilled 
job too tempting to be resisted, and so drop out of school 
before the end of the probationary period. 

Like many other features of the school, the plan of cer- 
tification is unique. The requirements for a certificate or 
diploma are as follows : (1) a minimum attendance of two 
hundred days at the school, comprising 1400 hours of instruc- 
tion ; (2) completion of the regular course m any given trade 
with a satisfactory report from the employer. If a girl's 
school record is not entirely satisfactory when she is placed 
in a position, a longer period in trade is required before she 
is given her certificate, or if her employer's report for the first 
three months is not acceptable, she is allowed to try again, 
and as soon as her employer is willing to report her satisfac- 
u 



290 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

tory, she is eligible for her diploma. It will thus be seen 
that the trade school diplomas differ from other diplomas as 
they certify not only to the school accomplishment, but also 
to the ability to use that accomplishment in trade and 
practical life which should be the final test of the work of 
any school. 

At the opening of the school September 14, 1914, there were 
461 girls in attendance who had started their trade courses 
during the previous year. The new admissions during the 
year 1914-15 were 1196. The average enrolment for the 
year was 659 and the average attendance 610, being ninety 
per cent of the total enrolment. The ages of the girls 
admitted during the year were as follows : eight per cent 
below fourteen (all graduates of the elementary schools) ; 
forty-one per cent between fourteen and fifteen ; thirty per 
cent between fifteen and sixteen ; sixteen per cent between 
sixteen and seventeen ; five per cent over seventeen. Like 
all trade schools that have yet been established, Manhattan 
finds the question of withdrawals a very serious one. The 
following table gives details concerning this feature of the 
work of the school : 

386 completed their course and were placed. 

79 came for trade tests only, and left as soon as the tests were 
completed. 

313 left to go to work without completing their courses. 

57 left because of illness. 

49 left to return to other public schools or to enter business 
schools. 

27 moved from the city. 

40 were dropped for inability or inefficiency. 

60 left because they were needed at home. 

60 left for miscellaneous or undetermined reasons. 

Of those who dropped out without completing their courses 
the majority did so during the first six months. 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 291 

272 remained less than one month (79 of these came for trade 
tests only). 

179 remained more than one and less than three months. 

128 remained more than three months and less than six months. 

106 remained more than six months and less than one year. 

Of these it may be said that a considerable number tried the 
trade school as a means of last resort, and would probably 
never have entered at all, if a satisfactory system of voca- 
tional guidance and prevocational training had been es- 
tablished in the elementary schools. A number of them 
dropped out to work temporarily, and returned to the school 
later to complete their courses. 

The character of the instruction is largely individual. 
The classes are so arranged that girls may enter at any time, 
complete the work of each grade as rapidly as their abilities 
will permit, and pass on to the next. In each trade the work 
is divided into steps leading from simple beginnings to the 
more complex, and the pupils advance from table to table, 
from room to room, or from machine to machine, in accord- 
ance with their own efforts. Each table, room, or machine 
has its special tasks to which a certain time allotment is 
given, so that girls who cannot accomplish the allotted tasks 
in the assigned time soon recognize that they will be more 
than- a year in completing the course. Those who do the 
work of each step in less than the allotted time are given 
credit for such time as they save, and may therefore com- 
plete the course in less than a year. Certain definite stand- 
ards are also set, which if a girl does not reach she is kept 
back and expected to repeat the work ; and if the results of her 
efforts show no fitness for the trade, she is urged to choose some 
other. The fullest records of each girl's work are kept, from 
the day she enters the school, and these results are used in plac- 
ing girls and deciding for what positions they are best fitted. 



292 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Many of the problems mentioned in connection with Man- 
hattan are common to all trade schools, but this school has 
done a national service in showing how they can be solved. 
There are two problems that have not yet been dealt with 
— the kind of teacher required and the disposal of the prod- 
uct. These will now be considered. 

The teacher. The question of the teacher is one on which 
the success of the trade school very largely depends, but in 
this country we have an unfortunate habit of placing the 
cart before the horse, and developing our machinery in ad- 
vance of our men ; we build our battleships before we have 
officers to command them, and very often we establish trade 
schools before we know either the kind of teachers we need, 
or where they are to be obtained. There is not the slightest 
doubt that the demand for teachers is bringing in many of 
the unfit, and positions in such schools are quite commonly 
filled by persons with more enthusiasm than knowledge of 
the business, as well as by inefficient persons from other 
occupations who seek an asylum in the service of the schools. 
The National Commission on Vocational Education believes 
" that the development of vocational education along right 
lines both for agriculture and the trades will depend largely 
upon the ability to secure and maintain well-trained teachers 
who have a thorough and practical knowledge of their sub- 
jects." 1 

Communities are inclined to mistake an elaborate building 
with a high-sounding name for an educational idea. In this 
case we have made the error of trying to create in ready-made 
fashion our special schools. We first construct a pretentious 
building and gratify local pride by calling it " the finest 

^ Report of Commission on National Aid to Vocational Education, 
Vol. 1, Washington. 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 293 

technical school on this continent " ; we select a principal 
who has made himself popular through lodge, politics, society, 
or church ; we select teachers from the local corps with little 
thought of fitness for special work, and we admit all and 
sundry to the new building without any selection on the 
basis of vocational fitness. 

Up to the present three kinds of teachers have been used 
in connection with trade instruction : 

1 . The professionally trained teacher, who has been trained 
in a normal school or college in the science of educational 
pedagogy with no special reference to industry and generally 
with no knowledge of trade. 

2. The one who has served her time to a trade in all kinds 
of shops, and knows thoroughly the conditions and require- 
ments of industry, but who has little or no knowledge of 
how to manage classes, or how to impart instruction. 

3. The one who combines in some measure the qualifica- 
tions of both the above classes. 

The trained public school teacher cannot teach trades by 
being given a short training in trade processes, for that 
short training cannot possibly give her adequate knowledge of 
business requirements and workshop conditions, such as 
wages paid, opportunities to rise, slack seasons, sanitary 
and moral conditions connected with each occupation, and 
labor problems generally, which is absolutely essential in order 
that she may become a successful trade teacher. More- 
over, she is apt to be " academically predisposed " and 
largely unable to treat the required subjects in any but the 
traditional educational method. 

On the other hand, it is equally true that the trade worker 
who has industrial experience alone cannot make a suc- 
cessful teacher. Her viewpoint of the training required is 



294 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

apt to be narrow. She is apt to regard the labor problem 
as a one-sided affair in which the so-called interests of labor 
are solely concerned and to ignore the rights and require- 
ments of the employers. She is apt to overemphasize the 
product rather than the producer, and to think of the rapid 
completion of the job, rather than of the development of the 
girl. For particular work she is apt to choose the girl who 
can turn out the work well and quickly, rather than the one 
who needs practice in it in order to become efficient. 

If the above is a true statement of the case in regard to 
both kinds of teachers, it follows that the problem is either 
to evolve a type which shall combine the qualities of the good 
teacher with those of the successful worker, or that both 
kinds of teachers are necessary. The manual training 
movement has passed through somewhat the same stages 
with regard to the question of teachers. In the early days 
the men were taken directly from the trades and placed in 
charge of the manual training classes. When this method 
proved unsuccessful and brought manual training into dis- 
repute, various institutions undertook to give both pedagogi- 
cal and technical training. This proved partially success- 
ful. The next step was to insist on the possession of the 
teacher's qualification before giving the technical training, 
but now it is fast being recognized that the trained teacher 
who has served an apprenticeship to a mechanical trade 
either before or after securing his professional training makes 
the best manual training teacher. 

The question of providing teachers for trade schools is, 
however, somewhat wider than that of providing teachers 
for manual training schools. In the former schools many 
kinds of teachers are necessary. There must be supervisors 
and directors of the various trades looked upon as wholes. 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 295 

forewomen to direct the school shops, trade instructors to 
teach the speciahzed processes on which the various trades 
are built up, assistants to attend to various minor matters 
in the workroom, art teachers who have had certain experi- 
ence in designing for the trades required, and academic 
teachers who know something of the conditions of the work- 
ing world. The ideal state of things will be achieved when 
all these teachers know both how and what to teach. 

There are many problems connected with the question of 
obtaining an efficient and adequate teaching staff for the 
trade school. One authority believes that the trade school 
itself will have to be its own training school for its faculty, 
to a greater or less extent. Another argues that the needs 
of the trade school are best served by having both kinds of 
teachers — those who have been trained in various schools 
such as the Pratt and Drexel Institutes and Teachers Col- 
lege, and those who have been trained in the trades, but that 
both types need supplementary training in order to deal more 
adequately with trade teaching. 

In all trades there is a certain amount of elementary work, 
for example, the first stage of the dressmaking trade is ele- 
mentary sewing, and the girl must be taught the use and care 
of the machine and other tools, the names and uses of the 
different stitches, certain underlying principles of garment 
construction, and in this fundamental instruction the expe- 
rience has been that the good teacher trained in an efficient 
institution is more successful than the teacher whose experi- 
ence has been that of the trade only. She understands how 
to analyze her work and to give explanations and demon- 
strations to the girls in a way that is readily understood. 
She therefore possesses many qualities which are essential 
to training girls in these fundamentals, and if these qualities 



296 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

were supplemented with greater knowledge of industry it 
is believed that she would be more successful in handling 
the A B C^s of trade instruction than the worker from the 
trade. 

Looking at the question from all points of view, it seems 
to be the inevitable conclusion that the teacher has an 
equipment for vocational training that we cannot afford to ig- 
nore. Experiments are now being successfully conducted 
by Simmons College in cooperation with the Women's Edu- 
cational and Industrial Union of Boston in supplying the 
defects of the teachers along trade lines, by giving trained 
teachers an actual experience of several months in trade 
workrooms so that they may understand more clearly the 
demands that are likely to be made upon their pupils by prac- 
tical industry. Courses of this character do not, and should 
not, try to make trade workers of the teachers, but' should 
aim to give a general knowledge of the methods and condi- 
tions of the shops and trades their pupils are likely to enter. 

On the other hand, the trade worker, in most instances, will 
have to be taught how to teach. The trade teacher does not 
readily recognize the school character of the shop any more 
than the teacher recognizes the shop character of the school. 
The trade teacher fails in many ways to understand the edu- 
cational problems involved. She knows whether the work 
is good or bad, but she rarely knows how to criticize it, or 
how it may be improved. She is apt to handle the girl just 
as she would in trade. She discovers which girl can do a 
piece of work best and keeps her at it, because in this way 
she can secure the most remunerative results. All her life 
she has been trained to use the girl in the workroom in such 
a way as to make the most money for her employer, and it is 
difi&cult for her to change her point of view, and to realize 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 297 

that the commercial element in school work is merely a means 
to an end, and that the producer must come first, and the 
product second, in her consideration. 

One source of assistant teachers is former students of the 
schools who have made good in trade. European trade 
schools for girls have obtained many of their best teachers 
from among former students, and have organized teachers' 
training classes for the purpose of instructing them how to 
teach. Every trade school should hold weekly conferences 
of all its teachers for the purpose of discussing specific prob- 
lems, and for the analysis of the instruction required for the 
different processes in each trade. Method in academic edu- 
cation has been organized to death, but method in industrial 
training has hardly yet been born. Most industries can be 
split up into elements, and when properly analyzed, a satis- 
factory method of teaching these elements may be evolved. 
In the working out of such analyses weekly conferences of the 
teachers and the trade workers will be found to be most use- 
ful. 

The report of the National Commission on Federal Aid 
to Vocational Education recognizes the importance of this 
question and has recommended that there be appropriated 
for the training of teachers of agricultural, trade and indus- 
trial, and home economics subjects the sum of $500,000 for 
the fiscal year 1915-16 ; $700,000 for the fiscal year 1916-17 ; 
$900,000 for the fiscal year 1917-18 ; $1,000,000 for the fiscal 
year 1918-19 and annually thereafter. 

When these sinews of war are available for the purpose, 
classes and courses will be established for the training of 
teachers in the requirements of trade, and trade workers in 
the art of teaching. The Commission also recognizes that 
trade experts are generally earning better salaries than those 



298 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

paid in the schools, and are recommending substantial grants 
in aid of salaries in order that the most competent may be 
attracted to the field of vocational teaching. 

Disposal of the product. In the practical operation of the 
various trade schools for girls that have so far been established, 
no question has aroused greater controversy than that of the 
disposal of the product. If the training given is to be effec- 
tive, that is, if it is to be applicable to industry, the work 
turned out must meet the conditions of the commercial world, 
and be such as would be able to compete successfully in the 
open market. The objections that have been urged against 
the practice of turning out a salable product are in the main 
as follows : 

1. There is grave danger of exploiting pupils and of estab- 
lishing a false aim for the school through too great a desire 
to make a good financial showing in attempting to make the 
school " pay its way." 

2. Competing manufacturers will be antagonized by the 
invasion of a private market by a public corporation. 

3. Organized labor will be similarly antagonized by the 
fear that the labor market may be overcrowded. 

It is said that the aim in any school determines the content 
and the methods of instruction, and that if the aim is the pro- 
duction of material things the pupils in that school will be 
sacrificed to the production of the material. The success of 
several schools for girls such as those in Boston, New York, 
Milwaukee, and Worcester should be sufficient to disprove this 
argument. These schools from their inauguration have fol- 
lowed the practice of making a commercial product for sale, 
and the ideals of these schools are as high as those obtaining 
in many of the higher institutions of learning. The idea of 
creating a false aim is a relic of the old academic tradition 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 299 

which believed in " education for education's sake " and did 
not admit that it had any connection with earning a liveli- 
hood. These schools cannot be made to pay if the term is 
used as ordinarily understood, and no sane advocate or di- 
rector of trade schools ever attempts to make them do so. 

Look at the conditions. The students are very largely — 
probably ninety per cent of them — unskilled workers and are 
there for the sole purpose of learning the trade. They must 
be advanced step by step from one process or set of principles 
to the next, and the moment they are able to apply those 
principles independently, they are sent out to give to some 
employer the benefit of the knowledge and skill they have 
acquired. Would any manufacturer attempt to run a busi- 
ness on such lines and expect it to return a profit in dollars 
and cents ? There are two sides to these schools, the com- 
mercial and the educational, and any attempt to make the 
school pay would overemphasize the commercial side, and 
not be in the best interests of the students for whom the 
schools exist. 

Manufacturers who know anything about the practical 
working of these schools have no fear of competition. 
Any intelligent manufacturer knows that a skilled mechanic 
can make an article in one tenth the time that he could 
teach a child to make it, and that therefore there is no profit 
in such a business. The Worcester Trade School says : "We 
have had more difficulty in keeping local manufacturers 
informed that we were in existence, than we have had in 
avoiding competition with them. The amount of work re- 
quired in any community to keep a trade school supplied is 
not likely to be more than a single day's work in a year for 
the shops in the same trade." 

The opposition of organized labor to this plan has been 



300 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

very greatly magnified, and what opposition does exist is 
very largely due to ignorance of the present-day method of 
these schools, and some unfortmiate experience in the past. 
With greater knowledge of present conditions the opposition 
may be expected to disappear. The terms '' scab hatch- 
eries " and " half-baked mechanics '' formerly applied to 
boys' trade schools are now not often heard. The labor 
element requires that everything that is done shall be open 
to inspection at any time, and that a trade shall be thor- 
oughly taught. At present they judge of the efficiency of a 
course almost entirely by its length. It should be the busi- 
ness of trade school advocates to show that, owing to sys- 
tematic organization and investigation, the time necessary 
to learn a trade is considerably less than it formerly was, 
when it had to be picked up in a succession of shops. 

There are of course difficulties in the way of selling the 
products of the trade schools, but whatever they are the 
difficulty of overcoming them is more than compensated for 
by the educational and industrial benefits to be derived by 
the adoption of the plan. The advantages may be sum- 
marized as follows : 

1. The pupils are more easily interested in something of 
definite use. The average girl finds it difficult to interest 
herself in abstract exercises which are not to form part of a 
finished product. The principle of interest in education has 
long been accepted, and is at the basis of most educational 
theories and practical life. There is no reason why, in the 
new education, the principle should be abandoned. 

2. There is the greatest value in the fact that the work is 
to be inspected by outsiders. The teacher, knowing the 
girl, and being human, is apt to excuse careless work because 
the girl was tired or deficient in some way, but the customer 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 301 

expects value for her money. Her criticism is quite im- 
personal, and it does not matter to her what the condition 
of the girl was when the work was done. If the girl is 
working on things for herself, she is apt to say, " It will do " 
or " I don't care " ; but for a commercial product this at- 
titude will not suffice, as the goods must be kept up to a 
trade standard. Occasionally goods which have not been 
brought up to the highest standard are sold as " second 
quality goods." Generally speaking this is not wise, as 
the required standard is thus rendered more difficult of 
achievement. 

3. Modern industry is such that two factors are of prime 
importance — speed and quality. Speeding up is one of the 
worst features of industry, and many will say that in school 
the girl should not be speeded. The speed meant, however, 
is not that kind of speed. The rush that makes a girl ner- 
vous and tired has no place in a trade school. Here speed 
is required to set a standard for the work. With a com- 
mercial product the work must be got out on time, and in 
this process the girl gets an idea of legitimate speed. This 
will mean a little of the scientffic management that is be- 
coming the watchword of industry — the elimination of 
lost motions. Speed introduces a healthy idea of rivalry 
and competition. One girl measures up against another. 
Any trade school which ignores the question of speed is de- 
priving the girls of the opportunity of acquiring a valuable 
trade asset. 

4. Even when the greatest economy is exercised, the ex- 
pense of running these schools will necessarily be high. The 
rate-payers are entitled to as economical an administration 
as is consistent with the best training, and to allow girls 
to perform what might be useful operations on useless prod- 



302 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ucts seems so unreasonable that no one would consider it 
for a moment, were it not for the fancied opposition of capital 
and labor. Some will say why should not the girl furnish the 
material and keep the articles she makes, thus relieving the 
school of the expense ; but the variety of material required 
to give the necessary training is too great id allow of this 
being done. 

Method at the Manhattan Trade School for Girls. The dis- 
cussion of this question may be concluded by a description of 
the method of dealing with the problem at the Manhattan 
school. The school does not regard the commercial aspect 
as an end in itself. No order is taken by the school unless 
it serves the educational requirements of a class, nor is any 
girl allowed to repeat processes merely for the sake of pro- 
ducing goods for sale. As approximately four fifths of the 
trade school program is devoted to trade practice, it is quite 
evident that a large amount of material is used. When 
the necessary principles and processes can be taught by al- 
lowing the girls to make articles for themselves, it is done, 
and one month of the year is spent in this way, so that the 
girl may have experience in purchasing materials, planning, 
cutting, designing, etc. 

During the year 1914-15 the following articles were made 
by the trade departments : 

Dressmaking — all grades, including children's clothing, 

underwear, plain and elaborate gowns 9,415 

i Electric power machine operating — aU grades, including 

i clothing and embroidery 9,909 

* Straw machine operating — all lands of straw hats 6,240 

Millinery — all grades, including the making of flowers and 

other trimming, frames, hats, etc 2,698 

Pasting — including the making of lamp shades and novelty 

boxes 3,253 

Total 31,515 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 



303 



The school has, by careful management, not only covered 
the cost of the materials used in the trade classes, but also the 
cost of all supplies for the academic, art, and physical classes, 
the cost of all repairs to machinery and equipment, and cer- 
tain repairs to buildings, the cost of equipment in an annex 
($1200), and the cost of all new equipment needed for the 
school ($1,766.44). In the lower grades where the work is 
elementary, and the girls are not proficient enough to make 
salable articles, the cost cannot be covered, but in the ad- 
vanced classes, where the work can be sold at market prices, 
the gain above the cost of material is more than sufficient 
to make up for this loss. The income from sales from Sep- 
tember, 1914, to July, 1915, was as follows : 



Department 


Credit prom 

Sales and 

Stock on 

Hand 


Cost op 
Materials 


Net Gain 


Loss 


Dressmaking 

Millinery 


$12,287.94 

559.95 

1,157.35 

3,650.50 


$5,742.69 
645.10 
516.27 

2,203.79 


$6,545.25 

641.08 
1,446.71 


$85.15 


Pasting 




Machine operator .... 


1 


Total 


$17,655.74 


$9,107.85 


$8,633.04 


$85.15 



Owing to this feature of the school's work, the cost of the 
trade school can be estimated in salaries and maintenance of 
building alone. Space will not allow of a description of three 
other equally successful trade schools for girls, — Boston, 
Milwaukee, and Worcester, — but an examination of their 
methods of organization and management will repay careful 
study. 

Part-time education. Schools of the t}npe above described 

1 Seventeenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools, New 
York. 



304 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

for the education of girls are comparatively rare, but even 
if they were developed to the full, it is probable that they 
would under present social and economic conditions reach 
only a very small proportion of the girls who are at work 
between fourteen and eighteen years of age. The only pros- 
I pect of further education beyond that which is now required 
by law for the mass of children at work is some form 
which will not preclude wage-earning at the same time. At 
this period of life the young worker is in the greatest need of 
guidance, instruction, and discipline, but she has been aban- 
doned to the shop and the factory. 

Part-time education for these girls is an economic necessity 
in order to realize upon the investment that has already been 
made in the elementary school. If once the child is lost 
sight of educationally at this period, it is difficult to induce 
her to " go to school " after a lapse of time. The educational 
chain should never be allowed to be broken. Various refer- 
ences have been made to solutions of the part-time problem 
in the chapter on the unskilled worker. There are four main 
purposes which may be served by part-time schools : first, 
trade extension for the " next step up " within a given in- 
dustry. Unfortunately this purpose of part-time schools 
will not affect a large proportion of the children, for most of 
the industries in which they are engaged provide nothing 
but unskilled work, from which there is no step up. The 
second purpose is that of providing trade preparatory courses 
for those employed in these occupations, so that they may 
enter other and more desirable industries when they are of 
sufficient age. The third purpose is that of providing general 
improvement courses. There are many occupations in which 
promotion depends perhaps more upon general intelligence 
than upon any special mechanical skill or ability, and from 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 305 

the viewpoint of the future welfare of the state as well as the 
benefit of the individual worker the general intelligence of 
the future voters should be raised. The fourth purpose 
should be the provision of home economics courses for those 
girls who are engaged in industry, until such time as they 
have to take charge of homes of their own. 

This instruction should be given in the time of the em- 
ployer. Of course, it may be said that there are evening 
schools which these young workers could attend, but expert 
medical opinion and the experience of social workers both 
agree that to force immature girls under sixteen years of age 
to attend evening schools after a long day's toil would result 
in more physical injury than educational benefit. 

The National Commission proposes a grant from the fed- 
eral treasury of five hundred thousand dollars (1915-16) 
increasing to three million dollars (1923-24) for the salaries 
of teachers of trade and industrial subjects and of these 
amounts it recommends that not less than one third be 
expended on part-time schools. Schools benefiting by this 
grant are required to provide at least 144 hours of classroom 
instruction, and the hope is expressed that by arrangements 
with the industries this amount of time may be considerably 
increased. This instruction is best given by allotting a cer- 
tain number of hours a week during the school year but it 
may also be given during dull periods of seasonal trades. 
When a girl under sixteen is not at work in the industries 
or assisting at home, she should be in school. 

The success of any plan of part-time instruction depends 
almost entirely upon the attitude of the employers. The 
instruction will have to be given during what is called the 
employer's time, and with no reduction in wages. The 
manufacturers have here an excellent opportunity of putting 



306 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

to the proof their oft-declared interest in industrial education. 
It should not be a difficult matter to so organize the indus- 
trial force that sections of the juvenile workers might be al- 
lowed to attend school at different times. Many employers 
are willing to do this, but others are not, and in order that 
all may be on a business equality in this respect the attend- 
ance will have to be made compulsory. 

Women's Educational and Industrial Union, Boston. A 
type of organization which has probably done more than 
any other single institution " to promote the educational, 
industrial, and social advancement of women" is that known 
as the " Women's Educational and Industrial Union " of 
Boston. This was founded in 1877 by a small group of 
earnest women who had large vision and great courage. 
At first through lunch rooms and food and handwork sales- 
rooms they sought to offer means of self-support to home 
workers. Through various committees they endeavored in 
every possible way to improve the condition of all women 
with whom they could establish connection. The original 
purpose still remains, but the Union is now a social-educa- 
tional institution, broadly constructive and using the re- 
sources of scientific research and investigation in improving 
the condition of women. The Union employs three hundred 
workers and gives employment to about five hundred women 
as foodshop producers and handwork shop consigners. In 
April, 1877, there were forty-two charter members. In De- 
cember, 1914, there were 4640 members. Even a general 
idea of the work of the Union cannot be obtained with- 
out an enumeration of the different departments now con- 
ducted. These are : 

Appointment bureau. This is a department of vocational 
advice and appointment, and was the first bureau of this 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 307 

character for women to be established in the United States. 
This department cooperates with many similar bureaus in 
New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Richmond, and has 
the assistance of a chain of committees in many leading cities. 
In 1914, 514 placements were made and 489 women were 
vocationally advised. Various investigations are made, and 
the results published regarding vocations for women. Be- 
ginning September, 1914, a year's course to train vocational 
advisers was planned in cooperation with Simmons College, 
(1) to provide a knowledge of methods of industrial in- 
vestigation and use of statistics, (2) to supply the necessary 
training in applied psychology, and (3) to afford a means for 
the practical application of principles and methods studied. 

Department of research. The purpose of this department 
is to study industrial conditions affecting women and chil- 
dren; to train young women as investigators; and to 
publish the results of its studies for the betterment and 
protection of women workers throughout the state. Three 
fellowships of five hundred dollars each are maintained. 
Eight intensive studies have been published— some in coopera- 
tion with the United States Bureau of Education, Department 
of Commerce and Labor, and the Massachusetts State Board 
of Education. 

School of salesmanship. This consists of a class for sales- 
women from the Boston department stores, and a normal class 
for teachers of salesmanship. The class for saleswomen — 
established in 1905 — is conducted in cooperation with eight 
department stores which send pupils to the school for a course 
of three months without loss of pay. Six hundred and 
twenty-two saleswomen have been trained in this school. 
Similar schools have been started by business firms with the 
Union's assistance, in various parts of the country. Thirty- 



308 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

one graduates of the normal class now hold responsible posi- 
tions as educational directors in mercantile establishments, 
or as vocational teachers in high and continuation schools. 

Normal class of industrial needle arts. This is a course for 
training teachers for trade schools. 

Vocational training to supplement college courses. These 
are offered by every department of the Union. 

Lunch rooms. Two lunch rooms are conducted in differ- 
ent parts of the city. At one of these an average of nine 
hundred persons is served daily, at another five hundred. 
Over six thousand pupils are served daily in the Boston high 
schools. There is also conducted a salesroom with hot food 
a specialty, a bakery approved by the Consumers' League, 
an ice cream plant, and a summer tea house. 

The food shop. Cakes, breads, pastries, jellies, preserves, 
and candy are made for the shop by women in their homes, 
or by the Union's own departments. All food is approved by 
a jury of experts, and the conditions under which it is made 
are inspected at frequent intervals by a physician regularly 
employed. The shop aims to help the inexperienced home 
worker by advice and practical illustration to attain a high 
standard in production, sanitation, and business manage- 
ment. 

The handtvork shop. This department is a permanent and 
beautiful exhibit of the best handwork of to-day, consisting 
of copper, brass, enamel, house furnishings, needlework, 
basketry, pottery, gowns, coats and hats for children's and 
infants' wear, etc. 

Hat and gown shops. These are business shops prepared to 
fill orders promptly for distinctive gowns and hats. They 
were originally established to give trade school girls an op- 
portunity to work under business conditions as a supplement 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS 309 

to their school training. They now serve as laboratories for 
industrial needle arts normal students. 

Law and thrift department. This was organized originally 
to investigate and settle cases of working women's wages 
unfairly withheld. The department now gives legal advice 
of the most varied kind to men and women. During the 
year 1914-15 more than 469 legal aid cases were handled. In 
connection there is an industrial credit union, which is a co- 
operative association for the saving, investing, and lending 
of money. 

There is also a social work department, the children's 
players, and a free reference library. It might be thought 
from the numerous activities mentioned that the Union is a 
commercial undertaking. The commercial features are only 
utilized as an aid to its social and educational work. The 
cost of the Union's educational and social service for the year 
1913-14 was $52,517. The industrial departments earned 
$33,409, leaving $19,108 to be met by membership fees and 
donations. Thus the industrial departments earned more 
than sixty-three per cent of the entire cost of the social- 
educational work of the Union. 



CHAPTER XI 

EVENING SCHOOLS 

I. Introduction. 

II. Attendance. 

III. Types of schools. 

IV. Essential features. 
V. Unit courses. 

VI. Efficient instruction a complex problem. 
VII. Summary of factors contributing to success. 

Introduction. Evening schools are a form of continued 
education which has long been in existence, and probably 
there is no branch of our educational system that has yielded 
such poor results for the efforts that have been expended. 
These schools were the first result of the early nineteenth 
century movement for better educational opportunities 
for the working population, and later for increasing the 
efiiciency of the workman. The first purpose of these schools 
was to continue and supplement, and sometimes to provide, 
elementary education for those who had not had, or who 
had neglected, early educational advantages. To-day they 
are looked upon as an essential part of any scheme of educa- 
tion — either industrial or academic — that aims to reach 
all the people. 

In an ideal state of society evening classes would probably 
be unknown. They owe their existence to the present 
economic and social condition of the community which 
seems to be unavoidable. When we enjoy universal pros- 

310 



EVENING SCHOOLS 311 

perity, and when the problem of earning a living does not 
absorb so much of our time and energy, educational op- 
portunities will be open equally to all. After a hard day's 
work of eight, nine, or ten hours, neither mind nor body is 
in a fit state to undertake any further work, either intellec- 
tual or mechanical. This is generally admitted, and there is 
a tendency to prohibit, inferentially, attendance at evening 
classes for those who are under sixteen years of age by making 
it compulsory for such children to attend part-time classes 
during the day. 

Attendance. Evening classes for men have not been 
generally successful in retaining for any lengthy period the 
boys and men they enrol, and the classes for women, ex- 
cept perhaps those in cookery, millinery, and dressmaking, 
have been no more successful. The attendance at evening 
schools is regarded by most authorities as unsatisfactory. 
The percentage of attendance varies, but as a general rule 
half the enrolled students complete about one half of the 
possible attendances. The variation is from twenty to sixty 
per cent according to local conditions and the character of 
the instruction. In the evening classes of the city of London 
(England) it is considered that forty thousand pupils out of 
130,000 are ineffective. Their enrolment and subsequent 
withdrawals destroy classes wholesale, rendering useless 
the efforts and organizations provided for their instruction 
and spreading want of confidence among the staff as to the 
value of all or any effort. An examination of class registers 
shows even in the case of many classes which survive, that 
their personnel changes so much that class teaching becomes 
impossible, and good students therefore suffer and become 
indifferent. 

Evening class work represents one continuous struggle 



312 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

against poor attendance during the greater part of the session ; 
and thus energies which might otherwise be directed into 
purely educational channels are partially dissipated in the 
struggle with idle or indifferent students. It is a struggle 
to preserve the attendance at a satisfactory levels and thus 
keep the classes alive. It is this continuously anxious effort 
that makes evening school work so arduous and so dispirit- 
ing. The strain of anxiety as to falling attendance has 
driven many responsible teachers and assistants to spend 
too much time and care in the mere whipping up of laggard 
students, who possibly under better class conditions might 
need less incentive to good attendance and mental activity. 
It is quite possible that less solicitude for mere attendance 
and more attention paid to program of work, presentation 
of subject, and general class management might secure 
better attendance. 

In 1847 six evening schools were opened in New York for 
the first time with a registration of 3224 pupils and the 
average attendance was only 1224. By 1850 this difference 
had not diminished, and the school authorities employed 
persons to visit the absentees to discover the causes of 
absence. But this plan accomplished little and it was 
abandoned. In 1865 the defects in the schools were care- 
fully analyzed, in view of the fact that the numbers always 
declined after the first few weeks. It was found that too 
many young children were admitted whose presence kept 
young men and women away. Pupils were also admitted 
who were attending the day school. In 1866 registration 
began a week in advance, no boys under fourteen and no 
girls under twelve years of age were admitted, a responsible 
person was required to accompany and vouch for all ap- 
plicants and other improvements were made. Yet notwith- 



EVENING SCHOOLS 313 

Standing this, in 1887 the registration was 20,645 and the 
average attendance 6796. In 1910-11 the total number of 
men and women registered was 111,996 while the average 
attendance was 41,207. Of the 83,145 registered in elemen- 
tary schools 13,000 stayed a week or less. In 1912-13 forty- 
five per cent of the total attendance were women and girls.^ 

Though the problem has persisted since the inauguration 
of evening schools and classes, it must not be thought that 
serious attempts have not been made to solve it. Many 
superintendents, inspectors, and other educational experts 
have devoted their best attention to the matter, and yet 
the problem baffles solution. It may be that the efforts 
have been too much concentrated, and in our desire for 
numbers we have ignored other vital factors. " Principals 
might well continue to consider the problem of attendance, 
not in terms of numbers or tenure, but by the indirect and 
more efficient method of a discussion of the best methods of 
teaching. It is a great mistake to seek the attendance of 
pupils on any basis, or by any method, except the simple 
and effective one of making the school experience so inter- 
esting and so valuable that the pupil must realize its worth.'' 2 

Types of schools. These may be classified as follows: 

1. Schools for providing general education for those who 
lacked or neglected early opportunities, and for those who 
have the ambition to proceed to higher schools. The edu- 
cation given in this type of school is sometimes, but more 
often not, directly related to industry. Its purpose is gen- 
eral improvement and the development of civic and social 
intelligence — citizen making. 

2. Trade preparatory schools intended for the develop- 

1 Van Kleeck, Working Girls in Evening Schools. 

« Fifteenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools, New York. 



314 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ment of industrial intelligence, and to give some elementary 
ideas of different trade processes. 

3. Trade extension courses, the aim of which is to give 
instruction which will enable the worker to advance in her 
chosen trade. 

4. Various courses in cookery, dressmaking, millinery, 
etc., intended almost entirely for home use. 

To these, perhaps, may be added a fifth class, " trade 
changing courses,'* the purpose of which would be to give 
instruction to those who are engaged in an uncongenial or 
low-paid occupation and wish to change. Unfortunately 
there is in many localities a regulation which prohibits 
the entry into trade courses of those who are not actually 
engaged in the trade. 

Schools of the first two types should gradually disappear 
as systems of education become developed and the economic 
condition of society improves, but there will always be 
necessity for the third class, while industry is so organized 
that the ambitious worker cannot get the necessary instruc- 
tion and knowledge while engaged in her daily labor. The 
National Commission restricts the aid it recommends to 
evening schools to those of this type. 

Essential features. Evening schools have certain gen- 
erally recognized defects. The recently new-born or perhaps 
re-born interest in industrial education has stimulated 
investigation and pointed the way to certain reorganiza- 
tions and improvements which, in various localities, are 
now being put into effect. Let us consider some of the more 
prominent features that should be included in a well-organized 
scheme of evening schools. 

Preliminary survey. It is now generally understood that 
to establish industrial schools of any kind without a pre- 



EVENING SCHOOLS 315 

liminary study, undertaken to discover the needs of the 
workers and the industries in which they are engaged, is to 
court failure from the beginning. This is particularly true 
of evening classes for women. When classes for women 
are proposed, it is generally assumed that there is an urgent 
demand for courses in cooking, dressmaking, and millinery, 
their traditional occupations. As far as dei&nite training 
for wage earning is concerned these classes are not success- 
ful, and any girl who attends them expecting to get much 
assistance in the trades of millinery, dressmaking, or catering 
is apt to be disappointed. This question of the need of 
detailed surveys before the establisliment of schools has 
been previously dealt with, but their need is perhaps more 
urgent in the case of evening schools than it is in the case of 
day schools. 

Kind of teacher. If teachers with trade knowledge and 
experience are necessary in day schools, they are even more 
so in connection with evening schools, for there the students 
are mature, already engaged in the trade, and have gen- 
erally enough knowledge to detect shallowness and lack of 
skill on the part of the teacher. The teacher employed 
should have an attractive personality, for this feature ap- 
peals more to women than to men, and the pupils are more 
apt to discontinue their attendance if they do not like a 
teacher. She must be acceptable also to the employers. The 
salary paid must be adequate. Many classes have proved 
unsuccessful, owing to the salary paid not being high enough 
to secure teachers of attractive personality and possessing 
the necessary skill and experience. Cheap labor is un- 
desirable. Voluntary teachers are not generally satisfactory. 

Aid of practical business men. Teachers and educational 
authorities are conservative, and frequently resent outside 



316 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

aid and suggestions in regard to the organization and man- 
agement of schools. Owing to this attitude, many schools 
have failed to secure the sympathy of the community, but 
if these evening schools are to achieve their full purpose, the 
aid of practical business men must be secured. There are 
many points where this aid is essential, but it is particularly 
valuable in selecting instructors, judging the suitability of 
the proposed courses, finding out the real needs of the indus- 
try and obtaining the assistance and cooperation of various 
organizations. This interest of the business man is generally 
best secured by means of an advisory board, and by giving 
the members of this board a certain official standing. Owing 
to their position on this board, they will not be likely to feel 
that they are " butting in." In the case of classes for women 
the board should be composed largely, if not entirely, of 
women. This plan of an advisory board is now being gen- 
erally adopted, but controversy has arisen over the question 
as to whether it should have any executive capacity or not, 
but the general consensus of opinion seems to be that where 
the expenditure of public funds is concerned only the elected 
representatives of the people should have executive power. 
The advisory board, if composed of carefully selected persons 
with practical knowledge of the trades taught, can do its 
best work by offering advice and suggestion. 

Business methods of advertising. Teachers have long 
rested under the imputation of not being good business men, 
and to some extent this imputation is perhaps warranted. 
In the establishment of classes business methods of adver- 
tisement should be used. When a manufacturer wishes to 
introduce a new product, he resorts to judicious advertising. 
The success of the department store has been due very largely 
to advertising, and the woman who goes to the evening school 



EVENING SCHOOLS 317 

goes to buy instruction just as surely as she goes to the de- 
partment store to buy a dress. The school should be ex- 
tensively advertised by placards and circulars widely dis- 
tributed among prospective students. Some posters that 
have been used in the factory have contained a space at the 
end for the indorsement of the firm. The circular letter 
having the personal individual touch has been found of 
great service. The circulars should give simple, definite 
information and should be self-contained ; that is, they should 
not require on the part of the student any further applica- 
tion in order to secure necessary information. 

Addresses illustrated by the optical lantern have proved 
useful, and now that the moving picture show is found 
on almost every corner, why should not this be used ? Pic- 
tures of various industries in actual operation, girls and 
women at work, the interiors of schools, posters and products 
of the schools might well be shown. 

Use should also be made of the local press in the literary 
as well as the advertising columns. The editors of these 
papers will generally be pleased to insert well-written articles 
on the work the schools purpose to do, and will call attention 
to the schools in their editorial columns if asked to do so. 

Organization and registration. On the night fixed for the 
opening all the organization should be complete. Each 
girl should previously have received a card stating the room 
she is to enter, the materials she is to bring, and the work 
she is to do. This, of course, means preliminary registra- 
tion, which should include much more than merely taking 
the name and address. At this time as much as possible 
should be found out about the pupil, and the information 
made use of in placing her in a class best suited to her ability 
and her requirements. The majority of the students who 



f 



318 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

attend evening schools are a little hazy as to their needs 
and require expert guidance as to the course it is best for 
them to follow. If a card index system is used, and it has 
great advantages, such information as the following should 
be entered : name, address, age, occupation, name of firm 
by whom employed, previous education, experience in trade, 
and purpose in attending. This should be retained as a 
permanent record, and contain space for entering additional 
data such as character of work done in the school, reasons 
for leaving, changes of employment, effect of the school 
training upon wages received. Reliable data on this last 
point is urgently needed. 

Admission qualifications. There is much difference of 
opinion as to what qualifications for admission should be 
imposed. The purpose for which the instruction is given 
will to some extent govern this. The age of admission to 
trade preparatory classes may be from fourteen to sixteen. 
In trade extension classes it may be placed as high as seven- 
teen. This will probably mean that the pupil has had one 
year in the industry, and has a background of trade ex- 
perience which will give her the ability to decide what she 
needs in order to progress in the industry. Admission to 
the classes should be restricted to the age set, and to those 
actually engaged in the industry. The students in each 
class should be as far as possible of the same average ability, 
both educationally and mechanically, in order that the self- 
respect of the student may not be wounded by having to 
appear more ignorant than her fellows. To an outsider 
this point may appear trivial, but those who have had to 
do with the practical working of these classes know how 
important it is. If there is a wide divergence in the ability 
of the students, the instruction has to be brought to the 



EVENING SCHOOLS 319 

level of the average. In this case it is too advanced for the 
dull student to understand, and too simple for the bright 
pupil to profit by, and so both cease their attendance. 

Practical interest of errqdoyer. These classes cannot be 
successful unless the pupil receives some direct benefit from 
the instruction given, and in the eyes of the worker direct 
benefit means promotion, which again means an increase 
in her wages. It is here that the cooperation of the employer 
must be secured. If the employees are trained efhciciitly, 
the employer will soon recognize the value of the training. 
The needs of the employer should be studied, and frequent 
visits be paid to his plant by the authorities of the school. 
The employer should be notified whenever any of his em- 
ployees register, and he should be kept informed as to their 
progress, and consulted as to their needs. But the employer 
also has his duties in connection with this matter. The 
average worker is not yet fully convinced that the employer 
aflvocates industrial training from any other than personal 
and selfish motives. It woukl not be wise to discuss here 
whether this opinion is, or is not, warranted. Whether 
warranted or not, it will not be removed until the employer 
shows something more than an academic interest. This 
he can do by giving preference in employment to students 
attending the school, by making attendance and progress a 
factor in promotion or increase of wages, by paying part 
or all of the fees when such are imposed, or by aHowing the 
pupils the equivalent of the time they spend at the classes 
without loss of pay. If the employer does not see his way 
clear to do some of these things, then the classes will not be 
as successful as they ought to be, and the interest he professes 
in vocational training is questionabk^. 

Character of equipment. The equipment must be satis- 



320 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

factory. Equipping trade schools is generally looked upon 
as an expensive matter, and in this connection much money 
has been wasted. The possibility of some sympathetic 
manufacturers allowing sections of their shops to be used 
at night for the purpose of giving instruction deserves con- 
sideration. If the teacher of a class happens to be the fore- 
man of a shop, this should not be a difficult matter to arrange. 
At any rate, whatever the plan adopted, the equipment 
must be ample for the needs of the students. The equip- 
ment of the ordinary day school for teaching the household 
arts is not at all suitable for teaching trade work. The 
equipment must be of the same character as that provided 
in the shops of the trade being taught in the school. Pupils 
cannot be retained if the equipment is not ample and suitable. 
A girl employed in the dressmaking trade entered a class 
in business English and bookkeeping, rather than the class 
in dressmaking, and when asked why, she said, '' I knew more 
than the teacher, and I could never get at the machine. I 
had to sew everything by hand. I could get more done at 
home." A stock girl in a department store left the evening 
school because '' she could run up two or three corset covers 
on the machine at home while she was making one at school 
by hand." ^ 

Regularity of attendance. The pupils should be required 
to attend regularly, and be given to understand at the 
commencement of the session that they will be expected 
to give satisfactory reasons for all absences or be dropped 
from the roll. Absence for three or four successive nights 
without satisfactory reasons being given should automati- 
cally remove the pupil's name from the register. The only 
reasons recognized should be sickness and having to work 

1 Van Kieeck, Working Girls in Evening Schools. 



EVENING SCHOOLS 321 

overtime. In the case of pupils having to come long dis- 
tances a stormy night might be regarded as a valid excuse. 
The number in each class should be strictly limited. A 
shop instructor cannot teach satisfactorily more than fifteen, 
and the other classes should be limited to twenty. When 
the number of applications is too great to be accommodated, 
a waiting list sometimes steadies the attendance, though a 
waiting list in connection with a trade school is never a 
permanent feature; for if the girls cannot get what they 
want when they want it, they will go somewhere else, take 
the next best thing, or give up the idea altogether. 

In many cases a deposit fee, returnable on making a cer- 
tain percentage of the attendance, has been found to have 
a good effect. The problem of poor attendance is of such 
antiquity that we have fallen into the error of accepting it 
as a matter of course. The authorities look upon it as 
unavoidable, and to be accepted without question. This 
attitude has infected the students, and they have come to 
look upon it as their right to absent themselves whenever 
they please. When this attitude of the students can be 
removed, the attendance will improve. It will be far better 
to have small schools filled with earnest pupils than to at- 
tempt to give efficient instruction to a large number who 
are indifferent and only attend when they have " nothing 
else on." 

Unit courses. One of the important things upon which 
the success of the school depends is the character of the 
course offered. Up to the present, this has had more to 
do with the comparative failure of evening schools than any 
other single cause. Courses have been organized to be com- 
pleted in two or three years, mainly on the day school plan, 
while as a matter of fact there are few evening schools that 



322 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

can hold their pupils for even one year of twenty-two weeks. 
In a course continuing for two years, the pupils only get 
in the first year the introductory work as it were, and be- 
come dissatisfied. They cannot look towards its comple- 
tion. It is now recognized that the two- or three-year course 
of study applied to evening schools has been almost a com- 
plete failure as far as the large majority of pupils is con- 
cerned, and a radical change is gradually being brought 
about. 

This change is the most far-reaching reform that has been 
made within recent years, with reference to the training of 
the industrial worker. It is the adoption of what are known 
as '' unit courses." ^ These are short courses designed to 
teach a specific thing, and to teach it thoroughly. Each 
course does not attempt to cover much ground, but what 
ground is covered is covered well. By taking a sujSBcient 
number of unit courses a large amount of ground may be 
covered, while if the training has to be stopped, what has 
been learned is of immediate practical value, and is not 
merely introductory to something else to be taken next year 
or some time in the future. 

The student who enters an evening class usually does so 
with a definite purpose, and for these the so-called general 
course logically and educationally arranged is not suitable, 
as the student has not usually the ability to select the parts 
that may be immediately useful and probably would not be 
allowed to do so if she had. The unit course teaches a 
definite thing that has been found by practical experience 
to be useful in the trade. It is drawn up by trade workers 
who know the needs of the trade, assisted by educationists 

1 "Short Unit Courses for Wage Earners," Bulletin No. 159. Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor, Washington. 



EVENING SCHOOLS 323 

who have had experience in arranging courses. It leaves 
out all extraneous matter and conserves the time of the 
pupil. How necessary it is to conserve this time and put it 
to the best use is seen when it is remembered that evening 
class instruction is maintained in many localities for only 
twenty weeks. For a majority of girls and women with 
home, church, and social duties, and the need for recreation, 
attendance for even three nights a week is a hardship and 
in many cases impossible. Suppose the pupil should con- 
tinue for four years, the entire time would amount to only 
480 hours or forty-eight working days of ten hours each. But 
in actual practice the time is much less than this, and in view 
of the fact that the schools do not hold their students, it is 
clearly absurd to organize the work in continuous courses 
almost the whole of which must be taken before much bene- 
fit can be received. 

The short course recognizes this situation, and meets the 
difficulty of early withdrawal, by making the unit so small 
that the pupil will be able to complete it within the time 
the school can probably hold her, and by dealing with one 
specific thing in each course. The instruction is complete, 
as far as it goes, and therefore is much more effective. In 
addition to giving some specific knowledge, the short unit 
course tends to keep the pupil longer in school. Experience 
of these courses shows that the pupil is encouraged by the 
accomplishment of a definite piece of work, and is likely 
to return for the next course. The success of the unit 
course depends very largely upon the most careful grouping. 
Each member of the group must have the same need, and 
the content of the course is determined by the need of the 
group, and the requirements of the industry in which they 
are engaged. For instance, instead of a general course in 



324 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

cookery, one unit course might consist of eight lessons in 
bread making for beginners, and another, five lessons in the 
same subject for the experienced housewife. The following 
scheme gives samples of unit courses as used in Rochester, 
New York. 

Dressmaking and Plain Sewing 

Mending, patching, darning, remodeling, and renovating 

of wearing apparel 12 lessons 

Household Hnens, sheets, pillow sUps, hemming towels, 

damask hemming, marking and repairing hnen 12 lessons 

Plain sewing, aprons, undergarments 36 lessons 

Shirt waists 12 lessons 

Shirt waists, suits, and one-piece cotton dresses 24 lessons 

Layettes (with home work) 12 lessons 

Children's garments 24 lessons 

Fancy neckwear, jabots, collars, berthas 12 lessons 

Advanced dressmaking, fitting and making of waists, 

gowns, and coats 36 lessons 

Buttonhole and eyelet making, sewing on buttons, hooks, 

and eyes 12 lessons 

Power machine operating 12 lessons 

Skirt making 24 lessons 

Drafting system 36 lessons 

Millinery 

Drafting and blocking of buckram shapes 12 lessons 

Covering and trimming of buckram frames 12 lessons 

Making of buckles, cabochons, etc 12 lessons 

Ribbons, flowers, novelties, etc 12 lessons 

Wire frames, sewing braid, and trimming 24 lessons 

Children's milhnery 12 lessons 

Renovating and remodeling old hats and trimmings 12 lessons 

General Homemaking 

Household sanitation and chemistry 72 lessons 

Pubhc sanitation 12 lessons 

Pure foods and pure food laws 12 lessons 

Household appUances 36 lessons 

Home nursing and care of children 12 lessons 

Laundering and house care 6 lessons 



EVENING SCHOOLS 325 

One great merit of the unit system is its flexibility ; it meets 
the needs of the student who requires help on some particu- 
lar phase of her work, but who is not able, or does not wish, 
to take a complete course, and also of the person who wishes 
to take a complete course, as by taking units enough a course 
can be got as complete as one wishes. Any pupil can enter 
the course at the point of her greatest need, obtain the help 
she requires, and then withdraw if she wishes ; if she has other 
needs she has only to return and take up other courses. In 
short, it may be said that the unit course system is capable 
of such adaptation that it is calculated to meet the needs and 
requirements of all classes and groups of students and fulfill 
the various conditions imposed by the limitations of evening 
class instruction. 

Efficient instruction a complex problem. The complexity 
of the problem of evening school education for girls and women 
is not yet thoroughly understood. The three great difficul- 
ties to be grappled with are those relating to diversity of oc- 
cupation, low educational attainments, and hours of labor. 

As early as 1858 the New York Board of Education called 
attention to the need of industrial education owing to the 
changing conditions of women's work.^ In that year it was 
estimated that eighty thousand women were engaged in wage- 
earning occupations — mostly in factories in that city. The 
report of that year noted the fact that the invention and im- 
provement of the sewing machine had thrown large numbers 
of females out of employment, and advocated the replacing of 
male clerks in retail stores by women and urged the necessity 
of training girls in evening schools for these occupations. 

Variety of women's occupations. In the year 1910-11 an 
investigation was made by the Russell Sage Foundation into 

1 New York Board of Education, Annual Report, 1858, p. 189. 



326 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

the condition of the girls and women attending the evening 
schools of New York City, and from the results of that in- 
vestigation most of the following particulars are gathered. 
In the year the investigation ^ was made, thirty-three public 
night schools were organized for women only, and forty-two 
others admitted both men and women. Nearly fifty thousand 
women, chiefly wage-earners, were enrolled in these classes, 
and the questions on the investigation cards issued were 
answered by 13,737 girls. Of these cards 13,141 were filled 
up accurately enough to be used for tabulation purposes. 
The girls who attend the evening schools come from office, 
factory, store, or home. They are engaged in a long and 
varied list of occupations with high skill required for a few, 
but with endless monotony, drudgery, low wages, and long 
hours characteristic of many. 

Of the 13,141 girls who filled out the cards 4519 were em- 
ployed in manufacturing, 4505 in trade and transportation, 
193 in professional, and 520 in domestic and personal service. 
These are very broad divisions and really give no idea of the 
occupations in which the girls are engaged. This classifica- 
tion is based largely on the product. If the process were 
the basis, the number of occupations would be very much 
greater. The following table shows the occupations of 
the women who reported as being engaged in transporta- 
tion and trade : 

Stenographers and bookkeepers 1813 40.3% 

Clerks and office workers 1745 38.9% 

Employees in stores, including saleswomen, packers, 

cashiers, stockkeepers, messengers, etc 709 15.7% 

Cashiers (other than in department stores) 56 2.6% 

Buyers, shoppers 36 .8% 

Proofreaders, copyholders 13 .3% 

Miscellaneous (collectors, agents, etc.) 7 .2 ^ 

^ Van Kleeck, Working Girls in Evening Schools. 



EVENING SCHOOLS 327 

The following table shows the principal occupations in 
mechanical and manufacturing pursuits ranked according to 
the number of women employed : 

Dressmakers and seamstresses. 

Tailoresses on men's and women's clothing, including vest makers. 

Artificial flower and feather makers. 

Milliners. 

Embroidery and lace makers. 

Bookbinders. 

Paper box makers. 

Makers of women's neckwear. 

Tobacco and cigar factory operatives. 

Confectioners. 

Workers on knit goods. 

Workers on silk goods. 

Workers on hair goods. 

Metal workers. 

Shirt, collar, and cuff makers. 

The information disclosed by this investigation shows that 
these evening school girls were employed in at least one pro- 
cess in all but three of the twelve large industrial groups 
listed by the New York State Department of Labor. From 
this, the conclusion is inevitable that if instruction is to 
touch the real problems of wage-earning women, much more 
must be done than to give lessons in sewing and cooking 
and those occupations in which women have been tradition- 
ally employed. It will also be seen that much investigation 
and experimentation is needed in order to develop courses of 
instruction which will meet the diverse needs of the various 
groups attending these schools, and it will probably be dis- 
covered that the system of unit courses will be the best 
method of giving the instruction required. As industry has 
been divided and subdivided, it is probable that instruction 
given to train for it will have to follow the same course. 
Investigation of icomen's occupations. There is no subject, 



328 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

perhaps, upon which the general public is more ignorant 
than of the occupations in which women are engaged. The 
first actual investigation of the trades in which women are 
occupied in an American city was made by Miss Butler/ 
and Pittsburgh, of all cities in the world, was chosen as the 
scene of that investigation — a city which not one in a 
thousand would have looked upon as one in which large 
numbers of women were engaged. Here women were found 
in food production, in the stogy industry, in the needle trades, 
sale work, telephone operating, and the cleaning industries, 
all of which perhaps may be looked upon as traditional 
women's industries, and do not cause much surprise. One 
would, however, hardly expect to find '' women molding 
metals, shaping lamps, and making glass," " girl thread 
makers at the screw and bolt works," and women fashioning 
sand cores in foundries, and yet they are found in these, and 
in many other unusual occupations. What was done for the 
women of Pittsburgh by Miss Butler was done for the fifty 
million workers of the United States by the Department 
of Commerce and Labor. The results of that investigation, 
published in nineteen volumes, makes astounding revela- 
tions, and there scarcely seems to-day an industry in which 
women are not employed. 

Lack of previous education. The results to be accomplished 
by evening schools depend to a very large extent on condi- 
tions outside the schools, over which they have no control. 
One of these conditions is the previous education the girls 
have received. It is the custom of the grade teachers in the 
elementary schools to complain of the lack of knowledge of 
her pupils, owing to the inefficiency of the instruction received 
in the previous grade, and much has to be discounted be- 

1 Butler, E. B., Women and the Trades. 



EVENING SCHOOLS 329 

cause of this professional attitude on the part of the teacher. 
In the case of evening schools, however, impartial investiga- 
tion seems to show that there is an undoubted lack of pre- 
vious education in the pupils attending, due probably to four 
causes : inadaptability of the course of study to the future 
occupation of the girls, limited amount of schooling, ineffi- 
ciency of teaching, and dullness of pupils who left day school 
because unable to keep up to the class. 

This lack of previous education is shown in an interesting 
way by the spelling used to fill up the cards issued in the 
investigation previously referred to. Here are a few samples : 
" ledes dresses," " papar bosces," " wilomaker " (willow 
maker), 'Hoker" (tucker), ''exzaning," ''ladies' underware"; 
" operator " was spelled aprether, apertergn, upraitter, 
apreter, apraider, aperater, apraider, and appairating ; "efren- 
ret" (arithmetic); ''grigofrie" (geography). One girl was 
employed in a " book bondary," another was employed in a 
** deportment store," and another called herself a " sail lady." 
While it is not wise, perhaps, to regard spelling as a test 
of general intelligence, and notwithstanding the fact that 
some learned men, even including university students and 
professors, cannot spell, yet a reasonable amount of accuracy 
in this respect may be fairly regarded as some measure of the 
previous education received. The facts disclosed show that, 
either a radical reform in elementary education is necessary, 
or that some part of the evening work will have to be de- 
voted towards making up its deficiencies. This lack of the 
fundamentals of education is the universal experience of all 
those who have had to do with the organization of evening 
schools and is recognized as being one of the chief hindrances 
to their success. 

Length of the working day. The third difficulty to be dealt 



330 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

with, is the length of the working day, which makes it in all 
cases difficult, and in many cases impossible, to attend eve- 
ning classes. Many labor conflicts have been fought on this 
point. Physiologists, scientists, and reformers have all 
pointed out the dangers to the commonwealth of forcing men 
and particularly women to work for an undue length of time. 
Fortunately there is a decided tendency, the world over, to 
shorten the working hours, and what justice and philanthropy 
has not been able to do, the law is now stepping in to accom- 
plish. The opposition to the shortening of the working 
day is growing less and less, but, of course, there are still 
those who point to the '' good old days " when women 
worked " from early morn till dewy eve," forgetting that 
two new factors — monotony and speed — are now domi- 
nating the majority of women's occupations. 

In any discussion of this subject it must be remembered 
that attendance at evening classes represents the worker's use 
of her leisure time, when, as a matter of fact, rest and recrea- 
tion are needed to prevent a loss of vitality, and, in many 
cases, a drop in the earnings of the next day. It may be 
said, of course, that a change of occupation is as good as a rest, 
but the untrained mind and the jaded body cannot appre- 
ciate this and craves complete rest or the stimulus of excite- 
ment. In addition to the actual length of time spent in the 
workroom, there must be added the time taken in getting 
to and from work. In large cities this is often a very serious 
item. Here is the way one girl, a floor hand in a petticoat 
factory, spent her time, and this case is typical of many others. 
Her actual hours of work were from 8 A.M. to 6 p.m. She 
left home at 7.10 a.m. In the mornings and evenings, she 
swept and dusted the workroom. During the day she ran 
errands in the factory, except during the half hour allowed for 



EVENING SCHOOLS 331 

lunch. She reached home for supper at 6.45 P.M., leaving 
for night school at 7.15. She returned home again at 10.15. 
Thus during four days in the week she had no leisure time 
between 7.10 a.m. and 10.15 p.m. In November she dis- 
continued her attendance. Under conditions such as this it 
is almost criminal to expect a girl to attend evening classes. 

Of 1049 girls sixty-two spent an hour or more in transit, 
and only eight spent less than half an hour in going to and 
from work. In work, transit, and evening school four days 
a week, some of these fourteen and fifteen year old girls spent 
not less than ten hours a day, only seven less than twelve, 
while ninety-five were away from home twelve to fifteen hours 
out of the twenty-four. Two others exceed even that number. 
These Were all mere children, who from every point of 
view should have been engaged in recreation and healthful 
exercise. Many others beyond the age of sixteen have per- 
sisted in their attendance at evening schools, notwithstand- 
ing the excessive hours of labor. This is a situation generally 
recognized, and no useful purpose would be served by multi- 
plying instances. 

Overtime. It is not only the regular hours of work that 
make attendance difficult. After a pupil has enrolled and 
attended for several nights, she is liable to be called on for 
overtime work, and thereby be forced to discontinue her at- 
tendance altogether. In the report for 1912-13 of Dr. Albert 
Shiels, District Superintendent in charge of evening schools 
in New York City, the results of an inquiry made concerning 
the reasons for irregular attendance are given. In seven 
of the evening high schools 1362 pupils gave reasons for leav- 
ing before the close of the session, and of these 542, or nearly 
40 per cent, stated that " night work including overtime " 
was responsible. In evening trade school the same reason 



332 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

was given by 299 out of 1006. In evening elementary schools, 
in classes for foreigners, cards sent out to two hundred who 
had left, brought replies from 159, of whom 105 said they 
were working overtime. A group of pupils whose combined 
absences during the term had amounted to 865 evenings was 
questioned as to the reasons, and overtime work was given 
as the cause of absence on 324 of the 865 evenings. 

It is gratifying to note that throughout the country there is 
a manifest tendency to reduce the hours of labor by legisla- 
tive enactment, but in many of the laws being enacted too 
many exceptions are allowed, thus providing loopholes of 
escape for unscrupulous employers. It is one thing to place 
a law on the statute book and another to provide machinery 
for its adequate enforcement. In this latter particular many 
of our labor laws are defective. 

Summary of factors contributing to success. In conclu- 
sion, the factors on which a thoroughly successful system of 
evening schools depends may be summarized as follows : 

1. An elementary education of sufficient breadth and 
suitable content upon which to build the further instruction 
to be given in the evening schools. 

2. An efficient system of part-time education for girls from 
14 to 16 years of age until the compulsory age can be raised 
to 16 years. 

3. Restricting the age of admission to evening schools to 
not less than seventeen years. 

4. A business organization of publicity, in order that the 
classes may be brought to the attention of those for whom 
they are designed. 

5. A course of study divided into short units so that each 
student may get what she immediately needs and can put 
to use. 



EVENING SCHOOLS 333 

6. Teachers of attractive personality and practical skill, 
who know the trade conditions that must be met by the 
pupils. 

7. Such industrial conditions in the daily work of the stu- 
dents as will enable them to enter and continue the classes 
without undue fatigue of mind or body. 

8. An efficient equipment in the schools that will give suffi- 
cient practice to all students. 

9. Careful grouping of classes so that those of the same 
average ability, and having the same needs, may be taken 
together. 

10. Consideration by the employer of the work done and 
skill acquired — in the way of increased wages, privileges, 
promotion, etc. 

11. The management of the schools by an advisory com- 
mittee of educationists, employers, and employees who will 
be competent to give advice on all that pertains to the wel- 
fare of the school and its pupils. 

12. A '' follow-up " committee which shall make it its busi- 
ness to follow the girls into industry, and to help them in all 
cases of emergency with advice, etc. 

13. A vocational guidance department which shall give 
some measure of advice and assistance to girls selecting and 
changing employment. 

14. Attention should be paid to the physical and recrea- 
tional side of the life of the girl. 



CHAPTER XII 

EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 

I. Introduction. 

II. Little consideration given to the subject. 

III. Results judged by number of students. 

IV. Criticism of graduates by employers. 

V. Commercial education in elementary schools. 

VI. Commercial education in the high school. 

VII. Pupils leaving before completion of the course. 

VIII. Office work specialized. 

IX. Private business or commercial colleges. 

X. Evening commercial schools. 

Introduction. The extent to which education for the 
various branches of that great industrial division " trade and 
transportation " has grown and its great importance to the 
industrial life of the community is little recognized. During 
the past fifty years women have appeared as a constantly 
growing factor in the commercial world. In 1870 there were 
twenty thousand women thus employed, forming only 1.1 per 
cent of the total number of women working for wages, but in 
1910 there were 1,167,908 women employed in trade, trans- 
portation, and clerical occupations, which number formed 
14.6 per cent of all the women gainfully employed in the 
United States. These women were employed mainly in two 
divisions — clerical occupations (593,224), mainly office serv- 
ice, and trade (468,088), mainly salesmanship. The fol- 
lowing table shows the increase in the number of women 

334 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 



335 



employed in business in the United States from 1870 
to 1910: 





Total Num- 
ber Gain- 
fully Em- 
ployed 


Percent- 


Number in 


Percent- 


Number in 


Percent- 


Ybak 


age OF In- 


Trade and 


age OP In- 


Office 


age OF In- 




crease 


Transport 


crease 


Service 


crease 


1870 


1,836,288 




20,383 




8,023 




1880 


2,647,157 


44.2 


63,058 


209.3 


30,344 


278.2 


1890 


3,914,571 


47.9 


228,421 


262.2 


113,261 


272.0 


1900 


5,319,397 


35.9 


503,347 


120.4 


245,517 


116.8 


1910 


8,075,772 


51.8 


1,167,908 


132.2 


573,135 


133.4 1 



From this table it will be readily seen that the percentage 
of increase is much greater than the percentage of increase 
in the total number of women employed. 

The importance of commercial life may also be measured 
by the number of students in the various private and public 
commercial schools. The Commissioner of Education in 
his report for 1914 states the number of commercial students 
in public and private high schools and in private commercial 
colleges to be 346,770. But this number is admittedly in- 
complete, as only 704 out of the thirteen hundred commer- 
cial schools made returns. The Commission on National 
Aid to Vocational Education estimates that from fifty thou- 
sand to one hundred thousand students are not tabulated. Of 
course these figures do not include the now not inconsider- 
able numbers of children in grades seven and eight who are 
taking elementary commercial courses in prevocational and 
other schools. " Commercial pupils constitute at least one 
fourth of all high school pupils, ten times as many as there 
are agricultural students, five times as many as there are 

^ "The Public Schools and Women in OflBce Service." Women's Edu- 
cational and Industrial Union, Boston. 



336 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

students of domestic arts, and nearly twice as many as are 
found in all our educational institutions." 

The numerical importance of the subject is perhaps better 
shown by reference to particular cities. Nine of the eleven 
Boston high schools in 1914 offered commercial courses. In 
these nine general high schools 5832 girls were enrolled in 
1913, of whom 3699. or 63.4 per cent, elected one or more 
technical commercial subjects — phonography, typewriting, 
or bookkeeping. The proportion electing these subjects in 
the different schools varies according to the type of neighbor- 
hood. In the most congested districts more than eighty per 
cent elected commercial subjects, as compared with about 
fifty per cent in the suburbs.^ In Chicago 31.5 per cent of 
the total number of students enrolled in the high schools 
elect a commercial course, and nineteen thousand pupils are 
enrolled in the forty or more commercial schools.^ 

Little consideration given to the subject. Though the 
subject is so important, even when considered from a numeri- 
cal point of view alone, it has up to the present received little 
consideration. The air is full of surveys and investigations 
into almost every branch of our educational system, but 
commercial education has been left severely alone. Com- 
mercial education is of course vocational education, but the 
usual treatment of vocational education does not include 
commercial education within its scope. The present con- 
dition of commercial education throughout the country is 
due to a natural growth, and is not owing to any artificial 
stimulus. Few grants have been allotted to it, no active 



1 "Public Schools and Women in Office Service." Women's Educational 
and Industrial Union, Boston. 

2 "Vocational Training in Chicago and in Other Cities." City Club of 
Chicago. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 337 

propaganda has been engaged in, and little encouragement 
has been offered in many districts ; yet notwithstanding this, 
it has progressed until it almost dominates the secondary 
school system, and is beginning to invade even the elementary 
schools of the country. Even the Commission on National 
Aid to Vocational Education, while recommending grants 
for almost every other form of vocational education, leaves 
commercial education to look after itself as far as grants to 
schools and courses are concerned. The Commission says : ^ 
" Although there is a general feeling that the quality of com- 
mercial education might be improved, the reports from the 
country seem to show that there is no great scarcity of 
trained workers of this kind. The Commission believes that 
the National Government should give substantial encour- 
agement through studies, investigations, and reports, which 
analyze conditions in commerce and commercial pursuits, 
and in this way furnish expert information for use in courses 
of instruction and methods of teaching commercial subjects." 
Results judged by number of students. Owing to the 
absence of investigation and criticism of this particular 
branch of our educational system, it might fairly be con- 
cluded that commercial education is so efficient in meeting 
the needs of commercial industries that investigation and 
survey are not necessary. As a matter of fact we have been 
blinded by numbers. We are inclined to the'opinion that if 
the classes are filled good and efficient work is certainly being 
done. We have mentally compared the comparatively small 
numbers attending industrial and technical schools with the 
large numbers taking commercial courses, and have concluded 
that all is well. This is generally the verdict of the schools 

1 Report of the Commission on National Aid to Vocational Education, 
Washington. 
z 



338 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

themselves, but that this conclusion is not warranted is at 
once shown when we make even the most cursory inquiries 
of the industrial establishments into which the graduates of 
these schools and classes enter. 

The demand that education should be practical and 
should definitely train for vocations has been made for many 
years, and the introduction of commercial subjects was the 
first concession made by the schools to that demand. When 
the subjects were introduced, there were no competent 
teachers, and untrained, inexperienced, and often illiterate 
men were taken into the schools. As a consecLuence, the 
subject suffered and the terms " commercial teacher," 
" commercial course/' and " commercial student " became 
terms of contempt. The subject has long outlived this stage, 
but it has been so busy firmly intrenching itself into the 
school system that it has not had time to consider its connec- 
tion with practical business affairs. It has been neglected 
and ignored by the business community, which may therefore 
blame itself for the conditions of which it so loudly complains 
to-day. 

Every subject in the school curriculum can be improved 
by criticism from without, and a subject taught in the schools 
from any other point of view than the meeting of life's needs 
and requirements is bound sooner or later to fall into disre- 
pute. This is strikingly illustrated by the revolution that 
has occurred in the methods of manual training as now taught 
in the schools. The recent propaganda for industrial educa- 
tion has completely changed the character of manual training 
in many instances, and it is now undergoing a process of being 
made over, is being given a more vital connection with real 
life, and as a consequence has disarmed the criticism leveled 
against it. This change would never have been made had 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 339 

it been left to the schools alone. Commercial education is 
in need of much the same kind of medicine. The require- 
ments of the business world must be considered, and the whole 
subject readjusted to accord with the demands of business. 

Criticism of graduates by employers. Let us now consider 
the criticisms passed by employers upon the product of the 
commercial schools. It does not concern us just now whether 
there is a valid answer to these criticisms or not. It may be 
that in many cases there is, but the fact remains that if grad- 
uates of commercial schools are to secure and retain positions 
in the commercial world, they will have to meet the require- 
ments of their employers. The City Club of Chicago con- 
ducted an investigation into vocational training, and quite 
logically included commercial education within its scope. 
During that investigation three hundred lists of seven ques- 
tions bearing on different phases of the subject were sent to 
leading merchants, tradesmen, employment agents, the large 
department stores, railroad offices, and mail order houses, 
and the following particulars are gathered mainly from the 
replies received. The defects pointed out fall into two 
broad classes : first, what may be called lack of knowledge 
and defects of instruction ; and second, what may be called 
the personal equation — the lack of certain qualities and 
characteristics which are essential to success in the business 
world. 

Lack of elementary knowledge. More than eighty-six (86.2) 
per cent of the employers have difficulty in obtaining em- 
ployees. Sixty per cent of the replies state that pupils who 
have taken commercial studies in the high schools are not 
efficient as clerical or office employees, and 80.6 report that 
pupils who have taken these subjects in private commercial 
colleges are not efficient. When these employers were asked 



340 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIKLS 

to state the most striking defects, there was a most wonderful 
unanimity. Amongst these defects the following are given, 
deficient general education, poor penmanship, inability to 
figure easily and correctly. Two quotations may be given. 
" The most noticeable defects are bad penmanship and ab- 
solute ignorance of business methods. Apparently the high 
schools pay little, if any, attention to good penmanship, 
although in the matter of bookkeeping, card indexing, or 
record work of any description the ability to write a rapid, 
neat, and legible hand is a sine qua non. It is safe to say that 
at least seventy-five per cent of the students who graduate 
from Chicago high schools are indifferent penmen." Another 
writes, " With over twenty years actual experience in hiring 
pupils from the Chicago public schools, I would say that two 
of the greatest defects with which we have to contend in this 
class of employee is the miserable penmanship, and lack of 
ordinary arithmetic." With reference to arithmetic another 
employer writes that it is not so much lack of knowledge as 
the lack of knowing how to apply this knowledge. After 
reading through many pages of such criticism as the above, 
and consulting with many employers, one comes to the con- 
clusion that it is not lack of business knowledge but lack of 
elementary training that is complained of. The business men 
can hardly expect the graduates of the schools to be experts, 
but they have a right to expect that those whom they take 
into their employ shall have a thorough grounding in writ- 
ing, English, and arithmetic. Given this, many of them say 
that they can soon " lick into shape " any " green " girl 
who comes into their ofiices. 

The Cleveland Girls' Bureau inserted an advertisement 
forty-two times in the local papers.^ In answer to this 427 

^ Eaton and Stevens, Commercial Work and Training for Girls. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 341 

replies were received — ten applicants for one place. The 
following are two of the letters received in reply : 

Cleveland, O 

11/24/13 
Dear Sir or Madam 

I am a grad of Hodge School at the year of 1911. I am also a 
grad of the Ohio Business College that is of Bookkeeping and I am 
nearly through sten about a month more. I am 18 yrs old and have 
had one months experience. 

Yours truly 

(Signed) Miss A 

Cleveland, 0, Oct 17, 1913 
Dear Sir 

In referrence to your want ad in the Press, I am eighteen years 
old and a graduate of the Edminster Business College 3028 W 25th 
Street having completed a full coarse of bookkeeping and stenog- 
raphy. Have had no experience yet and am there for unable to 
say just what I am worth. Hoping to receive your favorable reply, 
I remain 

Yours truly 
(Signed) Miss M M 

These letters are by no means exceptional. 

Lack of personality. In addition to the lack of elementary 
knowledge complained of by nearly all the employers, and 
the lack of knowledge of office requirements complained of 
by many, serious fault is found with the personality of the 
girls who seek employment. '' Not thorough in anything," 
" lack of intelligence," '^ poor training and deportment," 
" as to deportment, good manners, and polite address these 
seem to be entirely forgotten and even tabooed," " too busy 
with chewing gum and the powder puff " are some of the 
criticisms made in this respect. Even in those schools, and 
they are many, that have developed successful and efficient 
courses, this feature has not been considered as coming 
within the scope of legitimate instruction ; yet if the girls are 



342 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

to be successful, this demand of business men for an attractive 
personality cannot be ignored. 

The term " attractive personality " is difficult of definition. 
It does not mean good looks. It is a broad term covering per- 
sonal appearance, polite manners, appropriate dress, correct 
attitude towards the work of the office and fellow workers, 
and many other things. One employer defined an efficient 
stenographer as " one with adequate technical training, a 
knowledge of appropriate business dress, and a serious ap- 
preciation of the confidential character of her work." ^ It 
should be the business of the schools to give instruction on 
these points, intangible though some of them are ; for many 
a girl after obtaining a position has lost it through inatten- 
tion to some detail entirely unconnected with her technical 
ability. That such training is necessary is shown by the 
fact that the Kansas Civil Service Commission announces 
that in the examinations for employment under that body 
thirty points will be given for personal appearance and 
demeanor. Stenography, typewriting, grammar, spelling, 
and penmanship count for the remaining seventy. 

These criticisms offered by business men probably have 
a great measure of truth in them, but in order to show that 
they are made in good faith, business men must do something 
more than find fault with the schools ; they must actually 
take part in the training the schools offer. If the schools 
are to be improved, business men must aid in the process. 
From the point of view of commercial education, business is 
something more than business, and the schools have many 
functions other than those that were formerly supposed to 
attach to them. Neither can succeed without the closest 

1 "The Public Schools and Women in Office Service." Women's Educa- 
tional and Industrial Union, Boston. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 343 

connection. The schools must become business institutions 
and the business institutions must become schools. 

Commercial education in elementary schools. Perhaps 
it seems somewhat ridiculous to talk about commercial edu- 
cation in elementary schools, but on closer scrutiny it will be 
seen that it is here that a beginning must be made. Of course 
it is but a truism to say that all vocational education depends 
upon the foundation that is laid in the primary schools, but 
trite as it is, it needs repeating again and again until its im- 
portance is recognized. True as the statement is in regard 
to vocational education in general, it has special application 
to commercial education. No matter what the special 
technical qualifications of a girl in office service may be, un- 
less the arithmetic, spelling, and English are satisfactory no 
position can be retained. 

Some instruction of real worth can be given in the prevoca- 
tional schools, and differentiated courses are now being or- 
ganized for grades seven and eight. Such courses are being 
tried out in New York and many other centers where the 
course of study is being adapted for children — largely girls 
— intending to enter business life. In New York ^ those 
taking this course are required to attend school one hour 
longer a day than those taking the regular school course. 
This plan might be followed with decided advantage in all 
seventh and eighth grade classes, since in this way not only 
would more work be done, but also the transition between 
school and industry would be less abrupt. The object 
of these courses is to afford the pupils an opportunity to un- 
derstand the simpler business transactions, and to give them 
the ability to perform the routine work of the ordinary office. 
A joint committee of the Chicago Association of Commerce 

1 Report of the Superintendent of Schools, 1914. New York. 



344 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

and the Chicago Board of Education, in a report made in 
1913, strongly urged that prevocational training should begin 
in the seventh and eighth grades. They recommended that 
it should consist partly of " a narrow intensive drill on speed 
and accuracy in handling figures, spelling the vocabulary of 
business letters, simple punctuation, and correct English 
expression as the necessary fundamental education, without 
which even an ofiice boy cannot hope to attain future use- 
fulness." ^ 

The courses that are being organized are not for the pur- 
pose of making efficient stenographers, typewriters, or book- 
keepers, as the immaturity of the pupils would render this 
impossible. Their purpose is to lay a good foundation, to 
give the pupils some ideals of service, some knowledge of the 
requirements of the office, to inspire with some ambition, and 
then to advise them to continue their education and prac- 
tice in the evening schools, so as to be ready to accept more 
responsible positions when their age and ability will warrant 
them so doing. The position of the girl entering industry 
directly from the elementary school is not an enviable one, 
and while the girl entering commercial life is, perhaps, in a 
better position than the one entering the factory, yet she is 
much less to be envied than those who have received higher 
education. As the course in the seventh and eighth grades, 
specially designed for commercial work, becomes further 
developed, it may be that the criticisms now made of the ele- 
mentary school graduate will disappear, and that when spe- 
cial attention is given to the graduates so trained, the 
minor positions in offices may be satisfactorily filled by young 
girls until they gain experience and knowledge to fit them for 

1 Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1915. Bureau of Education, 
Washington. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 345 

the higher positions. Many business men would prefer the 
girls to grow up in their own offices, if they could obtain them 
with adequate elementary training. 

The conclusions arrived at in the Cleveland survey are not 
peculiar to that city. Investigations made in Chicago and 
Boston reach practically the same conclusions. 

Previous education determines position in the office. The 
Girls* Bureau of Cleveland obtained records from 428 office 
girls, which number is divided into three classes : the grade 
school, including those whose preparation is eighth grade 
or less ; the partial high school, which includes those who have 
spent some time in the high school, but have not graduated ; 
and the high school graduate. From an analysis of these rec- 
ords the following conclusions are drawn : 

1. Children from the elementary school form the large 
majority of those getting the smallest wage. 

2. Of those receiving no advance after two years* experi- 
ence, grade school children are in the large majority. They 
do not even appear in a comparison of workers receiving an 
advance of four dollars or more in the same length of time. 

3. Grade school children change about in office positions 
much more frequently than the other classes. 

4. Grade school children include nearly one half of all 
those who abandon office work for other vocations, and in 
factory work, which represents the greatest retrogression in 
the scale of employment, they reach by far the highest per- 
centage.^ 

As a matter of fact business offices are clogged with unfit 
girls. At fourteen or fifteen years of age, a girl with inade- 
quate training and an abridged English education goes into 
a business office to earn five or six dollars a week. Of course, 

^ Eaton and Stevens, Commercial Work and Training for Girls. 



346 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

she is unable to punctuate, spell, or type correctly. For 
several years she drifts from one job to another, never well 
paid, never promoted. She is the despair of her employer 
and becomes discouraged, bitter, or indifferent. 

What the elementary schools can do. In closing this section 
of the discussion let us summarize the work the elementary 
schools can and ought to do. 

1. Thorough training should be given in spelling, arith- 
metic, and English in the lower grades. It is not so much the 
amount of work done in these grades that counts, as it is the 
thoroughness with which it is done. This recommendation 
may seem to some to be going back to the days of the " three 
R's," but while not at all advocating this, a prolonged experi- 
ence convinces me that the basis of most of our educational 
troubles lies in the fact that the elementary work is not 
satisfactorily done. The average teacher is satisfied if 
she has " covered " the course as laid down in the official 
syllabus, but this is not enough. It must be done in such, 
a way that it will never be necessary to do it again. In 
this connection it should be said that the course of study is 
at fault. It deals generally with too many side issues, and 
before it can be covered satisfactorily it must be pruned to 
essentials. 

2. Courses must be more generally provided for grades 
seven and eight, having for their object the laying of a definite 
foundation for office work. The work here should be done, 
in the last year at any rate, under conditions which approxi- 
mate closely to those of real business. The conditions to be 
faced should be clearly pointed out, the limitations of the 
training given be emphasized, and the pupils encouraged 
in every possible way towards further education, the financial 
advantages of which should be clearly shown. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 347 

3. No girl should be allowed to enter an office at fourteen 
or fifteen years of age and then be lost sight of. Every edu- 
cational department should have an efficient vocational staff 
whose duty it should be to keep in touch with the girl until 
she is satisfactorily placed in a position where she can earn a 
living wage and at the same time have opportunity to pro- 
gress. There might well be a law to require the parent or 
employer to report to the school authorities every change of 
occupation until the child has reached the age of at least 
sixteen. 

Commercial education in the high school. It has already 
been said that commercial education was the first concession 
the schools made to the demand for a practical connection be- 
tween school and business. Inspired by the success of the 
" business colleges" and the demand they created, the public 
high school first tacked on to the regular academic courses 
an occasional course in bookkeeping, shorthand, or typewrit- 
ing. Two, three, four, and occasionally five-year courses 
have all appeared in the history of commercial education, and 
two-year courses are again being introduced, with the idea 
that they will be able to compete with the private business 
college so called, but, notwithstanding all that the public 
high schools have done and are doing, the private institu- 
tion still dominates the field. In Cleveland, for instance, 
the public schools are educating approximately only ten 
per cent of the boys and girls entering day commercial 
schools and courses in that city in a given year. The re- 
maining ninety per cent are patronizing private, parochial, 
or philanthropic institutions.^ In Chicago in 1909-10 there 
were 5236 children in the public high school commercial 
courses and nineteen thousand (estimated) were in the private 

* Eaton and Stevens, Commercial Work and Training for Girls. 



348 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

colleges.^ Other cities show much the same results, but with 
the estabHshment of improved courses in academic high 
schools, and the organization of special commercial high 
schools, this lead is being gradually reduced, and the private 
colleges are being forced to rely on the elementary schools 
for their students. 

Development of commercial courses in Boston. The char- 
acter and development of commercial courses may perhaps be 
best shown by a description of the method of procedure in 
Boston, which might fairly be called the city of educational 
experiment.^ In 1897 and 1898 commercial courses were 
introduced into the day high schools, and offered to all boys 
and girls who wished to take them. Special instructors 
were engaged for bookkeeping, stenography, and typewriting. 
These courses were two years in length and provided a be- 
wildering array of subjects. In the first year the following 
were required : English language and literature, ancient his- 
tory, phonography, penmanship, commercial forms, com- 
mercial arithmetic and bookkeeping, botany, drawing, music, 
and physical training. The second-year subjects were Eng- 
lish language and literature, medieval history, modern 
history, phonography and typewriting, elements of mer- 
cantile law, bookkeeping, commercial geography, zoology, 
physiology and hygiene, drawing, music, and physical train- 
ing. Two high schools reported 117 students (of whom 
seventeen were boys) taking the course out of a total of 
1635 students. This number does not include schools in 
which the number of pupils was less than fifty. In October, 



^ "Vocational Training in Chicago and Other Cities." City Club of 
Chicago. 

2 "The Public Schools and Women in OflSce Service." Women's Educa- 
tional Industrial Union, Boston. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 349 

1899, stenography and typewriting were reported in seven 
Boston high schools. Other cities introduced a longer course 
of training, ranging from three to four years. 

One of the agents of the Massachusetts Board of Educa- 
tion in his report for 1898-99 states his belief that the three- 
year course is best, and that the fourth year would be more 
profitably spent in actual business employment than in the 
schools. Three- and four-year courses remained until 1908, 
when the course was made four years in length. In 1911 the 
pendulum swung again and an attempt was made to return 
to a two-year course of study ; and an ^' intensified clerical 
course " was introduced into one of the high schools, one of 
the avowed purposes of which was to compete with the best 
business colleges. A large number of girls flocked into the 
course, but only twenty-five seem to have been on the roll in 
1913. Twelve came directly from the elementary school, six 
had been one year, and four two years in the high school, 
previous to taking the commercial course. Three attended 
the course for one year and then went to work. The two-year 
course is still retained in one or two schools for girls who can 
spend only a short time in school. These courses may be 
completed in even less than two years if satisfactory work is 
done. The instruction is mainly in stenography and book- 
keeping. Practical office work is offered to these girls as 
clerical assistants in the ofiices of the grammar schools, and 
this practical application of classroom instruction is proving 
most valuable. 

The situation had become so serious by 1913 that two in- 
vestigations were conducted under the Assistant Superintend- 
ent of Schools " to determine, not by opinion, but by carefully 
verified data, the educational needs of those who enter busi- 
ness and whether the commercial schools of to-day are meet- 



350 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ing the needs." ^ One of these investigations was conducted 
by the Chamber of Commerce and the other by the Women's 
Educational and Industrial Union. Some of the main con- 
clusions reached by the two investigations may be sum- 
marized as follows : 

1 . There are so few men occupied or needed in stenographic 
positions (in Boston) that it is not worth while for many boys 
to take training for work of this character. The practice 
of stenography is essentially a girls' occupation. 

2. The value in terms of earning capacity of a high school 
education is clearly demonstrated. The high school gradu- 
ate makes more rapid advancement and quickly passes the 
one who has not gone beyond the primary schools. 

3. The technical subjects most used in business which were 
taught in schools were ranked as follows : penmanship, men- 
tal arithmetic, bookkeeping, typewriting. 

4. The commercial educator must be acquainted with 
business demands and see that the student has a capacity 
and equipment to meet them. 

5. A four-year high school course should be insisted upon 
for all who can avail themselves of it and a fifth-year course 
of intensive training should be developed. 

6. Intensive courses in evening schools for those who have 
gone to work are of great importance. 

7. Cooperative office and school service should be devel- 
oped, giving pupils an opportunity to work in business oflSces 
and to get an understanding of the conditions and require- 
ments of actual business. This cooperative arrangement 
would react on the school and keep the courses close to the 
business world. 

The commercial courses in the high schools of Boston 

^ Report of the Superintendent of Schools, 1914. Boston. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 351 

have been remodeled largely on the findings of these com- 
missions. 

Pupils leaving before completing the course. Commercial 
courses in general high schools have proved unsatisfactory. 
That this is the case is shown by the large number of pupils 
who drop out before completing the course. Of the 6536 
pupils in the commercial courses in the Chicago high schools 
in September, 1905, only 1470 were graduated four years 
later. This is a loss of 77.5 per cent for the four years.^ The 
attendance at the business colleges is largely made up of these 
pupils, and may be partly owing to their general dissatis- 
faction with the courses in the academic high schools. Four 
hundred and ninety-one pupils in the ten Chicago high schools 
wrote on the theme, "Why do Pupils leave the High School ? " 
and of these 341, or 69.5 per cent, gave as a reason, "to 
go to business college." Two hundred and ninety-six, or 
60.2 per cent, gave as a reason the fact that they saw no 
connection between their high school work and their future 
vocation. 

The tendency is now, particularly in the large cities, to 
establish separate commercial high schools; but in the 
smaller towns and cities, the commercial work will have to be 
done in the academic high school, and if these courses are to 
be effective for their purpose, they must be given a definite 
close contact with business, which they have hitherto lacked. 
The majority of the teachers who are in charge of the business 
courses are academically trained, and have had no practical 
acquaintance with business affairs. Owing perhaps to this, 
the courses contain much that, while academically useful, 
has no direct application to actual business. In industrial 

1 "Vocational Training in Chicago and Other Cities." City Club of 
Chicago. 



352 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

education it is now accepted as an axiom that the teachers 
must be men who have had actual shop experience, and surely 
the same principle should be applied to commercial subjects. 
Steps should be taken to keep the teachers alive to the 
changing conditions of business life. The pupils, moreover, 
must be given the opportunity to come into contact with 
the ordinary routine of a business office. This may be af- 
forded by holiday apprenticeships, part-time courses, or occu- 
pations on Saturdays, when the schools are not in session. 
The medical student, the normal student, the pupils of the 
trade school are now all given opportunities for practice 
under working conditions. The business houses must fur- 
nish these opportunities. Model banks, offices, and like 
paraphernalia in the schools themselves are more or less of an 
artificial character and cannot be expected to do the work 
required. There are, of course, many difficulties in the way, 
but obstacles as great have been overcome in connection with 
industrial education. The plan has been satisfactorily 
worked out in connection with salesmanship instruction in 
the Boston schools. 

Office work becoming specialized. Office work and busi- 
ness practice is becoming specialized in much the same way 
as industrial operations, and this feature will have to be 
considered in the organization of courses. A large retail 
organization in Boston showed two hundred different kinds 
of jobs or unit occupations in which one or more individuals 
were employed, and it is probable that commercial education 
will find its greatest and most practical development in the 
organization of unit courses such as are being extensively used 
as a method of industrial education. 

An excellent example of a specialized commercial high 
school is the Clerical High School of Boston, established in 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 353 

1914. The following are the unit courses of study proposed 
for this school : 

Course Preparing for Office Service 

This course is available for girls who have completed two years 
of high school work, and consists of the following subjects : book- 
keeping, office practice, commercial arithmetic, commercial law, 
penmanship, and business English. 

Course Preparing for Stenography and Higher Clerical 

Work 

This course is available for girls who have completed three years 
of high school work, and consists of the following subjects : short- 
hand, typewriting, penmanship, business arithmetic, English, book- 
keeping, political geography, and office practice. 

Course Preparing for Secretarial Work and Bookkeeping 

This course is available for young men and women who are high 
school graduates, and consists of the following subjects : (a) (for 
secretaries), stenography, typewriting, business correspondence, 
office practice, commercial procedure; (b) (for bookkeepers), book- 
keeping, use of office machinery, filing devices, commercial arithme- 
tic, commercial law. 

Students in each of the above courses are advanced as 
rapidly as their progress will permit, and are given certifi- 
cates when they have satisfactorily completed the courses 
without regard to the length of time required for completion. 

Private business or commercial colleges. One of the most 
striking features in the history of the development of com- 
mercial education is the increase in the number of private 
" commercial colleges " and the number of pupils they, for 
various reasons, attract from the public school system. The 
American commercial college is probably unique; nothing 
exactly like it is to be found in other countries, and nowhere 
else has private enterprise been allowed to so monopolize a 
public function. In 1910 the high schools reported more 
2a 



354 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

than one third (34.8 per cent) and the private commercial 
schools more than one half (57.7 per cent) of the students in 
commercial subjects in the United States, and although since 
that year the numbers of the commercial students in the 
public schools have increased and the numbers in the private 
colleges have decreased, the numbers in the latter are still 
very great. 

Solicitation of pupils. As these schools are under no public 
control or inspection, the methods of their organization and 
equipment, their courses of study, and the qualifications of 
their teachers are difficult to obtain. The great charge made 
against the business colleges is, that they solicit pupils and 
parents in order to gain students. The Chicago report states 
" that the solicitor for the business colleges is a serious evil 
in the community." The attempt to gain pupils is not in 
itself a thing to be deplored ; indeed, if the ordinary school 
system injected into its organization some of the business 
enterprise shown by the " colleges," it would be better for all 
concerned. It is the methods employed that are to be con- 
demned. 

In many cases the solicitors work on a commission basis, 
and usually they have not had any kind of training to fit 
them for the responsible work of advising children or their 
parents. They are usually more concerned in securing pupils 
than they are in telling the truth. The maturity or fitness 
of the pupil concerns them little. In attempting to secure 
these pupils misrepresentation, if not downright lying, is 
often resorted to. Pupils are guaranteed situations at the 
end of the course. The success of exceptional students is 
made use of, and by these and other means pupils, even from 
the fifth grade and upwards, are induced to leave the public 
schools to take a course in some business college. A Chicago 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 355 

high school teacher states : "In our city these business schools 
obtain complete lists of pupils in each of the upper grades, as 
well as of the pupils in the high schools (one cannot say how) 
and their solicitors canvass these families thoroughly and re- 
peatedly, setting forth the advantages of a course in a business 
school and the loss of time in attending high school. This 
work would not be so effective as it is if they were not able 
to convince parents and pupils that the business college offers 
a short cut to wage earning." 

Evidence to this effect is not only given by teachers, but 
also by pupils. In ten high schools spread throughout the 
whole of the city of Chicago 565 pupils out of 862 gave as a 
reason why more pupils do not enter the high schools, the 
work of the business college agent. One pupil writes : "School 
pupils who have a chance to choose between high school and 
business college are generally encouraged to attend college 
by men who entice them before they graduate from the 
grammar school, so they are turned from high school. There 
is no one going from house to house telling of things 
they have in high school and people don't bother to find 
out. I would have had this same experience only that 
my father, being a well-educated man and holding a good 
position, knew different, and I was compelled to go to high 
school." 

It is just here that the high school could afford to take a 
leaf out of the book of the commercial school. The high 
schools should make more effort to advertise effectively what 
they have to offer to the child who is at the end of the ele- 
mentary school course. It is only in this way that the 
efforts of the agents of the business schools can be counter- 
acted. Any advertising that is done at present by the high 
school consists simply of a dry statement of the courses, 



356 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

which conveys nothing to the average parent. Compare this 
with the elaborate catalogues issued by the business schools, 
illustrated by attractive pictures, often fanciful, of students, 
successful graduates, buildings, and equipment. 

Many reputable proprietors of business colleges condemn 
these practices, but feel compelled to make use of them, 
owing to the fierce competition of other schools. One such 
proprietor says : *' Business college training in Chicago is in 
large measure a failure because of soliciting children and 
employing teachers who lack training. Poor foundation, 
poor teachers, and textbooks which produce the largest cash 
dividend are not conducive to efiicient ofl&ce help. I will 
welcome the day when every young man and woman who 
needs and wants commercial training can get it without 
having to pay the fee charged by special schools." 

It is estimated that the citizens of Chicago pay $1,425,000 
in tuition to such schools. It must be remembered that 
these schools are under no restriction by any educational 
authority, and the parents have no guarantee that their 
children are working under even fair sanitary conditions. 
Overcrowding and bad ventilation are common. These mat- 
ters should surely be a concern of the law, and no such 
school should be allowed to receive pupils until it has con- 
vinced the educational authorities, on the one hand, that the 
proposed course is satisfactory, and, on the other, the health 
authorities that the working conditions are such as will insure 
a healthy environment. It should also be made a punish- 
able offense to make false statements or misrepresentations 
in order to lure children to these schools. 

Defects. The defects of the average private business col- 
lege may be thus summarized. It should be said, however, 
that there are many institutions to which the strictures do not 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 357 

apply. Some have done a necessary and useful work not 
hitherto performed by any pubHc organization. 

1. No attention is paid to age, preparedness, or desirabil- 
ity of admission of individual pupils. 

2. Pupils are retained for the sake of the fee after their 
unfitness is discovered. 

3. Overcrowding in classrooms with too many pupils to 
a teacher. 

4. Bad grading as to age, previous preparation, and abil- 
ity — all pupils being included in one class. 

5. Untrained and inexperienced teachers. 

6. An unsatisfactory curriculum, ignoring general educa- 
tion and sufl&cient office practice. 

7. An atmosphere subversive of business ideals. 

8. Unscrupulous methods of solicitation. 

9. Absence of an official standard of education, and lack 
of all supervision except by an interested proprietor. 

Evening commercial schools. Much that has been said 
with reference to evening schools in other sections of this 
study applies here also, and no part of our educational system 
deserves more intelligent handling than the evening com- 
mercial high school. In no other department do the students 
attend with such a definite purpose as they do here, and the 
night schools should not be looked upon as an afterthought 
or a sideshow in our educational organization. The problems 
of the evening school are somewhat more complicated than 
those of the day school. Girls attend from different motives, 
from varying occupations, and with different degrees of 
preparation, and all these factors have to be considered. 
Here are found girls who work in offices during the day and 
who wish to supplement their previous training, girls who 
work in stores, factories, and domestic service and have to 



358 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

struggle with very elementary principles. A canvass of five 
commercial evening schools in Boston shows the occupation 
of 861 girls to be as follows : 

Office service 349 40.5% 

Manufacturing processes 230 26.7% 

Mercantile service 103 12.0% 

Domestic and personal service 23 2.7 % 

At home 137 15.9% 

Miscellaneous. 19 2.2% 

The previous schooling of these same girls is shown as 
follows : 

High school graduates 96 11.1% 

High school non-graduates 319 37.0% 

No high school training 444 51.5% 

Unclassified 2 0.3%^ 

The method of procedure adopted until recently has been 
that of the day school, — two, three, and four year courses, 
— and no method could have been better designed to dis- 
courage those who attend the schools for a definite commer- 
cial purpose. The goal is too remote and the sustained effort 
required is too great. Many of the students are unable to 
do certain portions of the work, and are reluctant to take up 
any. These are often discouraged soon after they begin. 
On the other hand if they were allowed to pick and choose 
the information desired, they would be able to accomplish 
some definite piece of work. This can be done by the 
method of unit courses previously referred to. These con- 
sist of from ten to twenty two-hour lessons, depending on the 
character of the work. First of all the subject is plotted out 
into large general divisions, such as bookkeeping, mercan- 
tile office appliances, commercial law, advertising, etc., and 

» "The Public Schools and Women in Office Service." Women's Educa- 
tional and Industrial Union, Boston. 



EDUCATION FOR OFFICE SERVICE 359 

then each division is divided into unit courses, by taking a 
suflBcient number of which a complete course in any one divi- 
sion is obtained. 

These courses also offer great opportunity for employers 
to assist in this work by outlining to school authorities the 
courses they need, and to show their active interest and 
appreciation by giving preference and promotion to the 
girls who have taken these courses and obtained the diplomas. 
The adoption of these intensive unit courses will necessitate 
more than ever the employment of teachers who have a 
thorough practical acquaintance with the branch of the busi- 
ness they are required to teach. 

In conclusion it may be said that the measures required 
in connection with the evening commercial schools are as 
follows : 

1. The introduction of a thoroughly flexible curriculum in 
the form of carefully organized unit courses. 

2. Revision of the texts used with special reference to their 
suitability for their purpose, e.g., the acquirement of business 
English. 

3. An extension of the night school term. Private business 
schools run for the whole year, and the public schools must 
meet them on their own ground. Provision must be made 
for the student to make reasonably rapid progress so that she 
may see that she is " getting somewhere," before becoming 
discouraged. 

4. Efficient registration by which the pupil's previous 
training, her requirements and ability, may be gauged in 
order that the best service may be rendered to her. 

5. The appointment of teachers, with training and experi- 
ence, who shall be required to keep themselves alive to the 
changing conditions of business. 



360 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

6. The provision of satisfactory and sufficient equip- 
ment. Students cannot get sufficient practice on the type- 
writer without an adequate number of machines, nor can 
adults do satisfactory work in desks designed only for 
children. 



CHAPTER XIII 

EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 

I. Methods of selling goods. 

II. A pioneer school of salesmanship. 

III. Instruction in the stores. 

IV. Part-time instruction. 

V. New York State Factory Investigating Commission. 

VI. Instruction in Boston public schools. 

VII. Agreements between the stores and the schools. 

VIII. Training teachers. 

IX. Physical education of the salesgirl. 

Methods of selling goods. One great avenue for the em- 
ployment of girls and women is salesmanship. More than 
two hundred thousand of them are occupying positions as 
clerks and saleswomen in various types of mercantile es- 
tablishments in the United States. Within recent years the 
character and methods of retail selling have been revolution- 
ized. It was formerly the practice to make a profit, regard- 
less of whether the customers were satisfied or not. The 
present system of one price for all was unknown. Goods 
were marked with secret marks known only to the seller, 
and the best saleswoman was the one who could obtain the 
highest price, and the price first asked was generally higher 
than the one she expected finally to obtain. An article 
once bought, the transaction was regarded as closed and 
the idea that " a bargain was a bargain " was rigidly ad- 
hered to. If when the article reached home the customer 

361 



362 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

was not satisfied, nobody suffered but the buyer, and the 
merchant did not consider himself obligated to remove the 
dissatisfaction of the purchaser. He deserved to be cheated, 
because he was not sharp enough to detect flaws and defects, 
which it was his business to discover. 

To-day all this is changed. One price is made to all for 
the same class of goods. The price of an article does not 
depend on the ability of the purchaser to pay, and there is no 
room for haggling or bargaining within the organization of 
any reputable store. Goods are now universally changed if 
the purchaser is not satisfied, or the purchase price is re- 
funded if the customer wishes. This policy was inaugurated 
by John Wanamaker more than 40 years ago. On May 
6, 1876, he opened his two-acre store in an old freight de- 
partment of the Pennsylvania railway company, and many 
merchants predicted his failure; but the new store was to 
do business with the public and not with other traders, and 
the public appreciated the new methods because 

1. The store would not importune any one to buy. 

2. The prices of goods were put down at the beginning 
to the lowest point they could be sold for, and there was no 
underground way to get them. 

3. The goods were genuinely trustworthy. Seconds were 
not sold for anything but seconds, even if people could not 
tell the difference. 

4. A sale could be canceled and money got back easily 
by return of what failed to please.* 

The policy thus inaugurated now dominates the business 
of retail selling, and if the transactions of a merchant do not 
result in profit to the customer as well as to himself success 
in any large way cannot be expected. " Service to cus- 

^ Golden Book of the Wanamaker Store, Philadelphia. 



EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 363 

tomer " is now the only method of building up a business. 
The buyers from all stores meet and mingle in the same 
markets. They have access to the same sources of supply, 
and all buy on much the same terms. Prices are the same 
in all stores, and generally speaking one store is distinguished 
from another only by certain features of its service. All this 
goes to show that successful retail selling now demands the 
highest kind of service to the customer, and this cannot be 
given without a well-trained, courteous, and intelligent sell- 
ing force. 

Competition has forced this question to the front, and it is 
now recognized that the saleswoman is the point of contact 
between the customer and the store, and upon the impression 
she creates depends the estimate the customer forms of the 
store and its service. Her appearance, intelligence, courtesy, 
personality, knowledge of stock, and ability to adapt that 
stock to the needs and requirements of the customer are 
vital factors in giving a right and lasting impression. Many 
of the qualities which a saleswoman should possess may be 
gained through the right kind of instruction. 

A pioneer school of salesmanship. One of the most 
successful pioneer schools for the training of saleswomen is 
the Union School of Salesmanship of Boston, organized by 
the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in coopera- 
tion with five large department stores of the city. Mrs. 
Prince, the Director of the school, began her experiments by 
interesting the store superintendents. As was to be ex- 
pected, they were very skeptical as to the necessity or feasi- 
bility of training saleswomen. They asked for proof that 
the scheme she proposed would work, and that it would re- 
sult in greater efficiency. In order to prove that a trained 
woman could sell more goods, and handle more customers 



364 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

successfully, Mrs. Prince entered a store and took a place 
behind the counter. At the end of the day she had made 
a splendid record, and had beaten every one of her competi- 
tors, selling three or four times the amount of some. The 
practice was continued on other days, and in other stores, 
and the results were always the same. 

Cooperation of the stores with the school. At first the school 
was carried on without connection with any business house, 
but under these conditions it did not attract the kind of girl 
wanted in the stores. It was then that Mrs. Prince secured 
the interest of the stores, and the five contributing firms 
agreed to allow the pupils one day a week in the stores in 
order to secure the necessary business contact. For this 
service one dollar was paid. The next step taken was the 
formation of an advisory committee, consisting of the super- 
intendents of the five stores. This committee agreed to 
allow the girls half time in the store and half time in the 
schools, paying three dollars a week for the store work. 
Afterwards the girls were given full pay (six dollars) and al- 
lowed three hours a day for three months for training. The 
girls are selected from the store by the director of the school. 
They attend from 8.30 to 11.30 every morning except Mon- 
days. At the end of the three months, if the girl's work is 
satisfactory, she is given a permanent position in the store at 
the initial wage of six dollars. 

At present there are over six hundred graduates of the 
saleswomen's classes, and the record of their progress has been 
most encouraging. Out of a total of 195 graduates inter- 
viewed in 1913, 145 had received a wage increase during the 
year. Thirty-four of them had been advanced two dollars a 
week, eighteen had been advanced three dollars a week, six 
had received a weekly increase of four dollars. For the 



EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 365 

remaining eighty-seven, wages had been increased all the way 
from fifty cents to fourteen dollars a week. Fourteen of the 
graduates held executive positions with wages ranging from 
nine dollars to twenty-five dollars a week. 

Objects of the instruction. The instruction given is intended 
to accomplish the following objects : 

1. To develop a wholesome attractive personality. In 
this connection a study of hygiene is made which includes 
daily menus for saleswomen, ventilation, bathing, sleeping, 
exercise, etc. 

2. To give familiarity with the general system of stores : 
sales practice, store directory, business arithmetic and forms, 
lectures. 

3. To increase knowledge of stock : color, design, textiles. 

4. To teach selling as a science : discussion of store experi- 
ences, talks on salesmanship, demonstration of selling in the 
class, salesmanship lectures. 

Representatives of the firms give practical talks on such 
subjects as " How to show goods/' " Trifles," " Textiles," 
" Service to customer," " Customer's point of view," etc. 
Demonstration lessons are conducted like the practice teach- 
ing in normal schools. Real customers, representing differ- 
ent types, buy real articles. At the end of the sale the one 
who has made it is allowed to criticize her own work, the 
customer states why she did, or did not, buy the article, and 
the whole matter is summed up by the director.^ For ad- 
mission the girls must be at least eighteen years of age, and 
have had a good fundamental education. Some of the store 
superintendents admit that three well-trained saleswomen 

1 National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, Bulletin 
No. 13. •' Vocational Training in Chicago and Other Cities." City Club of 
Chicago. 



366 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

can manage a counter better than six indifferent ones, and 
the well-trained with good salaries cost the store no more 
than the indifferent six. The school keeps in closest touch 
with the stores, and after pupils have attended the school 
for six weeks the superintendents of the stores from which 
the pupils come are asked to estimate the value of the in- 
struction given, and to offer suggestions in regard to special 
points in the training of the individual students. The 
instruction is thorough in every way, and has a decided cul- 
tural as well as a direct educational value. 

The following are the questions sent by the director of the 
school to the store superintendents : 

Will please answer the following questions in re- 
gard to Miss considering her work when she entered the 

salesmanship class in comparison witli what she is now doing, 

1. Is her personality more interesting and attractive since she 
entered the school? 

2. Does she comprehend the store system and apply its rules 
more exactly ? 

3. Does she make out her sales slips more distinctly, accurately, 
rapidly ? 

4. Has she developed power of initiative during the training? 

5. Does she keep her stock well, neatly, attractively, and with 
full linos ? 

6. Does she know her stock, — what she has, and how to talk 
about it, — advertised goods, lines in competing stores, etc. ? 

7. Has she an easy manner with all types of customers? If 
not, what particular type does it seem hard for her to approach? 

8. Is she energetic and business-like in her work and attitude? 

9. Is she more willing to work anywhere in the store whenever 
need arises? 

10. Suggestions : Please note here any special points which need 
emphasis during the final weeks of training. 

Signature 

Date 

Examinations. The efficiency of the instruction is tested 
by regular examinations. The following are typical exami- 
nation papers in " textiles " and " salesmanship." 



EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 367 



Examination in Textiles 

1. Describe in detail a single raw fiber of each of the four tex- 
tiles studied. What advantage for manufacture has each? 

2. How do woolens and worsteds differ in raw material, treat- 
ment, and finished product? Give two examples of each. 

3. a. Name three hair-bearing animals and the textile material 
made from their hair. 

6. Name three vegetable fibers and one material made from each. 

4. Give all the tests you know for a good piece of cotton sheet- 
ing, dress linen, broadcloth, taffeta. 

5. Which of the four textile fibers are raised but little in this 
country ? Why ? 

6. What is meant by "natural color" in linens and silks? Give 
two examples of natural colored silks and one of natural colored 

linen. 

7. a. Compare cotton and linen as to durability, cost, and beauty. 
h. What is meant by warp, plain weave, sizing, live fleece, 

wool, spun silk? 

8. Where is the greatest amount of the raw material of cotton 
produced ? 

Where is the greatest amount of the raw material of wool pro- 
duced ? 

Where is the greatest amount of the raw material of silk pro- 
duced ? 

Where is the greatest amount of the raw material of linen pro- 
duced ? 

Where is wool raised in the United States? 

Where is wool manufactured in the United States? 

9. Tell all you can of the "boiling off" process in the manufac- 
ture of silk and the "weighting" which usually follows it. 

10. Name materials, class of fiber (animal or vegetable), and give 
talking points of samples in the envelope supplied. 

Examination in Salesmanship 

1. a. State ten cases in which it is necessary to have the signa- 
ture of the floor manager. 

h. What is the purpose of the sales slip ? 

2. Suggest three ways of finding out the price a customer is will- 
ing to pay. 

3. a. Describe in detail an interesting sale which you have made 
or lost lately, and tell why you think it resulted as it did. 

h. Analyze the sale. 

4. Name at least three things you can do to save time in mak- 
ing a sale. 



368 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

5. If you have a customer who has always worn a certain type 
of suit quite out-of-date, how are you going to sell her an up-to-date 
suit, and make her feel satisfied after she has got it home ? 

6. Give four reasons why a firm reduces the price of merchandise. 

7. Give an outline showing how some article from your own 
stock is handled from the time it reaches the receiving room until 
it is delivered to the customer. 

8. What do you mean by selling or talking points ? Give at least 
five talking points, and if possible more, on the following : 

a. an article froni the stock you are now selling. 
6. an apron used in the demonstration sales. 
c. a bureau scarf from the handwork shop. 

9. Name ten principles of good salesmanship which you have 
learned from the demonstration sales. 

10. What do you consider the greatest need in your department 
and why ? What can you do about it ? ^ 

Instruction in the stores. The Wanamaker stores in 
Philadelphia have for many years conducted regular classes 
for the younger employees. These are held twice a week and 
all must attend, the girls and junior boys from 8.30 to 10 
o'clock in the morning, and the senior boys from 6.40 to 9.30 
in the evening. The course of study consists of the common 
English branches, commercial geography, ethics, and knowl- 
edge of business forms. Regular textbooks are used, and the 
classes are taught by experienced public school teachers. 
This instruction had a humble beginning in a class in arith- 
metic designed to remove the ignorance of the boys in addi- 
tion, subtraction, and the making of figures. These classes 
have developed into the John Wanamaker Mercantile In- 
stitute, which has since become the American University of 
Applied Commerce and Trade, and is chartered by the state 
of Pennsylvania. 

Some department stores depend largely upon lectures on 
store topics to their employees. These are delivered at 
stated periods by various high officials. Such subjects as 

^ Butler, E. B., Saleswomen in Mercantile Stores. 



EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 369 

the following are chosen: ''approach," "deportment," 
" lookers," " system," " directing customers," " suggestive 
selling," "loyalty," "courtesy," "enthusiasm," "time," 
"cooperation," "errors," "advertising," "service," "in- 
direct advertising," "industry," "knowledge of merchan- 
dise," " care of merchandise," " wastes in business," " store 
directory and store system." In many cases the educational 
value of these lectures is further increased by furnishing to 
each sales person a bulletin on the subject of the lecture for 
preservation and further study.^ 

There is no department of the store where effective in- 
struction cannot be given. In some stores courses of lessons 
are given to bundle wrappers. The beneficial effect of such 
instruction cannot be questioned. After sixty little cash 
and bundle girls from a department store had attended a 
half-day-a-week continuation school for a few weeks the 
employer who had greatly resented their going said : " You 
have made these youngsters over. They have now an en- 
tirely different conception of the store and its opportunities." 

Many stores in various parts of the country are recognizing 
the desirability of giving such training to their employees, 
both for the sake of the individual saleswoman, and for the 
business itself. In order that this instruction may be placed 
on a satisfactory basis educational directors have been 
appointed by various firms in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, 
Cleveland, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New 
York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. In fifteen 
stores of the above cities nine of these officers are women. 
The function of the director is to organize and carry out a 
course of training suitable for the employees of the store, and 

* " Service Instruction of American Corporations." United States Bureau 
of Education, Bulletin, 1916, No. 34. 
2b 



370 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

to supervise the selling force. In many stores he takes over 
the functions of the sales manager, and in others those of the 
buyers. In others, as for instance the store of Marshall 
Field and Co., he is also in charge of employment and wel- 
fare work. This is said to be the ideal arrangement, for then 
the responsibility for engaging the right kind of people, for 
training them eJ0&ciently, and for providing proper working 
conditions is centered in one person. He then can correlate 
it so as to produce the best results. 

Part-time instruction. The possibilities of part-time 
instruction in salesmanship are very great. The New 
York Factory Investigating Commission reports that there 
is in the normal store a certain amount of what may be called 
" dull time." The early hours of the morning are generally 
slack since the bulk of the trade does not arrive before ten 
o'clock, and in some stores the hour is still later. Some of 
this time is needed by the employees for the care of their 
departments, but a certain portion of it could very well be 
spared for instruction resulting in a positive gain to the 
individual and to the business. The number of employees 
required to serve a department during the rush hours is 
greatly in excess of those needed during the remainder of the 
day, and owing to this it should be quite possible to arrange 
a series of shifts for instructional purposes. 

Properly organized training courses can be made to accom- 
plish three definite objects : (1) to bring the individual up 
to a minimum standard, (2) give such increase in efficiency 
as shall receive increase in wages, and (3) fit for the " job 
ahead " or the " next step." The girl of exceptional ability 
may be trusted to look after herself, and will rise without any 
special attention being paid to her. It is the average worker 
who requires this instruction. The New York Board of 



EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 371 

Education in conjunction with six department stores have 
established classes for the fourteen to sixteen year old em- 
ployee. These classes are under the control of the board, 
and are taught by regular certificated teachers. The stores 
provide the necessary classroom and send certain of the boys 
and girls to attend during store time. At present the in- 
struction given in these classes is in the main a continuation 
of the elementary school subjects taught with special refer- 
ence to their application to department store work. 

New York State Factory Investigating Commission. The 
report of this commission makes the following recommenda- 
tions : 

1 . There is need for vocational training in the department 
store. The difficulty of securing competent workers, the lack 
of those properly qualified for promotion, and the special 
knowledge required for efficiency in the various occupations 
indicate that this need exists. 

2. There is a wide field for this kind of training, as shown 
by the number of employees and the variety of occupations 
in the business. 

3. The industry depends largely for its new workers upon 
the untrained boy or girl who leaves school between fourteen 
and sixteen years of age. 

4. Store organization is such that there are opportunities 
to give the necessary training. 

5. While there are a number of training schemes in opera- 
tion, they are confined to relatively few occupations and 
have not yet been developed to the point where they fully 
meet the needs of the industry. 

6. The analysis of the business into departments and occu- 
pations shows that in each type of employment there is a cer- 
tain definite content of knowledge or manipulative skill, or 



372 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

both, for which training can be given. In certain places this 
content of knowledge is considerable, and must be acquired 
by the efficient employee. 

Instruction in Boston schools. Instruction in salesman- 
ship is given a place in the continuation and high schools of 
Boston, and its introduction is directly traceable to the in- 
fluence of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of 
that city. Such courses are now organized in nine of the high 
schools, and there are over three hundred girls taking them. 
An arrangement has been effected by which the girls may get 
store experience on Saturdays, Mondays, and during holi- 
days. In January, 1914, a director of practical work in sales- 
manship was appointed to coordinate commercial work in 
general high schools with practical work in a group of co- 
operating stores, and as this director is also acquainted with 
the conditions of work in the different schools, she is able to 
harmonize the work between the store and the school, so that 
the minimum of confusion may result. The director also 
organizes the technical salesmanship courses given in the 
schools, and supervises the teachers of those courses. The 
teachers are required to be persons who, by business experi- 
ence and training, are qualified to give the necessary in- 
struction. The success of courses of this character depends 
almost entirely upon the kind of positions the girls can se- 
cure and retain, after training, and the placement and 
follow-up work carried on by the director has an important 
function in this connection. 

Agreements between the stores and the schools. It is 
only when such schools and courses have the hearty coopera- 
tion of the stores for which they are preparing, that they 
can hope to succeed. This cooperation must be active and 
not passive, and definite agreements should be entered into 



EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 373 

between the schools and the stores, in order that there may- 
be no possibiHty of misconception or misunderstanding. 
Too often courses have been organized without any thought 
having been given to the destination of the students. Train- 
ing students who cannot be absorbed into the industry is 
a great economic waste. The vocational schools must be 
supported by the industries for which they train. 

An almost entirely new departure is being made with re- 
spect to trade agreements of this character by which the 
trades and industries are to support the vocational courses 
in the Dunwoody Institute and in the Girls' Vocational High 
School, Minneapolis. These agreements are of various types. 
One provides that the employers and unions are to require 
all apprentices during three years of their apprenticeship to 
attend at least five days a week an all-day school at the 
Dunwoody Institute for two months of the dull season of the 
trade in which they are engaged. Arrangements are made 
with the employers that they shall pay half the usual wages 
while attending the school. One half the time spent in school 
by the apprentice is to be devoted to the practical work of the 
trade, and one half to technical and academic work. One of 
these agreements is with the department stores and is of a 
very broad character, providing for all emergencies that may 
arise, and safeguarding the interests of both employer and 
employee.^ 

Training teachefrs. As has been previously pointed out, 
the success of such schools and classes depends very largely 
upon the kind of teacher employed. The teacher of sales- 
manship must combine business and store experience with 
teaching ability. She should have maturity of judgment and 
a large vision of the social and economic significance of the 

^ The Indv^trial Arts Magazine, September, 1915. 



374 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 



work, always remembering that the girls under her charge 
need training for right and happy living through the ability 
to perform their daily duties, either in the store or any other 
vocation into which they may enter. 

The demand for teachers of salesmanship in department 
stores, continuation and high schools has become so great 

MORNING 



Monday 



Selling in depart- 
ment stores 



Tuesday 



Study of mer- 
chandise and 
store system 
in cooperating 
stores. 

Supervision of 
store work of 
pupils in sales- 
manship school 



Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 
Saturday 



Observation and theory and 
practice of teaching the fol- 
lowing subjects in the sales- 
manship school : 
Textiles Color and design 
Hygiene Salesmanship 
English Merchandise 
Economics Arithmetic 
Daily conferences with the 
director on the morning's 
work. 



AFTERNOON 



Monday 


Tuesday 


Wednesday 


Thursday 


Friday 


Selling in de- 
partment 
stores 


Economics 
Industrial 
history 


Education 
Textiles 


Applied psychol- 
ogy 
Education 


Textiles 
Textiles 



that a training class for teachers has been established by 
means of cooperation between the Women's Educational and 
Industrial Union School of Salesmanship and Simmons Col- 
lege, Boston. The students spend Monday in selling goods 
in various department stores, the mornings of the remainder 



EDUCATION FOR SALESMANSHIP 375 

of the week in observing the theory and practice of teaching 
in the Union School of Salesmanship, and the afternoons in 
technical courses at the college. About thirty graduates of 
this class are at present engaged in teaching salesmanship in 
department stores and in vocational classes in various parts 
of the United States. The schedule of classes is given above. 
The work, with its many ramifications, done by the Union 
School of Salesmanship is graphically shown by the chart 
on opposite page. 

Physical education of the salesgirl. The connection be- 
tween health and efficiency has been recognized in a general 
kind of way for some time. Efforts are now being made in 
factories and other industrial concerns to improve work- 
ing conditions, and by so doing to conserve human ener- 
gies. The question, however, is a much wider one than 
the provision of satisfactory working conditions. The health 
of the individual largely determines her eflficiency, and her 
efficiency is of vital concern to the store. Several large 
firms now give a medical and physical examination to ap- 
plicants for employment, and a periodic examination to 
their employees. 

The necessity of a periodic examination of the individuals 
composing the sales force has been clearly shown by the 
findings of a recent examination of seventy-five saleswomen 
in New York, of whom seventy-eight per cent suffered from 
scoliosis, sixty-three per cent from exaggerated curves of 
the back, thirty-seven per cent from thoroughly bad backs, 
twenty-eight per cent from leucorrhea, twenty-one per cent 
from pronated feet, eighteen per cent from heart weakness, 
eighteen per cent from severe pain at menstruation, and 
eight per cent from painless flat foot. Although the aver- 
age age of these seventy-five young women was only twenty- 



376 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

six years, but eight per cent had good backs and only twelve 
per cent were in good physical condition. 

The stores which are engaging in this work are seeking to 
remedy discovered defects by the issue of bulletins, prescrib- 
ing corrective exercises, dental care, provision of rest rooms 
and gymnasiums, instruction in personal hygiene, lunch rooms 
in which proper food is served, and the provision of suitable 
recreative facilities. This work is not entered into from 
philanthropic motives but as a purely commercial proposi- 
tion, as it is found to yield adequate financial returns derived 
from the greater efficiency of the sales force. 



CHAPTER XIV 
VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 

I. Introduction. 

II. Rise of the movement. 

III. Varying opinions. 

IV. Vocational guidance in Edinburgh, Scotland. 
V. Placement of elementary school pupils. 

VI. Placement of high school pupils. 

VII. Information needed regarding industries. 

VIII. Vocational guidance in the high school. 

IX. Qualifications of the vocational adviser. 

X. Conclusion. 

Introduction. The federal, provincial, and state govern- 
ments on this continent have within recent years engaged 
themselves very largely with what has been called the 
" conservation of natural resources." This phrase is used 
to express foresight and restraint in the use of physical 
sources of wealth, such as land, soil, water power, woods, 
minerals, fisheries, etc., and of the goods produced from these 
natural resources. The term has not yet been interpreted 
to include human resources and institutions, but there is 
as much need for the one as there is for the other. Great 
as has been the waste of natural resources, it is probable 
that the waste of our human resources has been still greater, 
and the modern movement for vocational guidance and 
assistance may be looked upon as a movement for the con- 
servation of our human resources. 

377 



378 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

Rise of the movement. The movement arose owing to 
a widespread impression that the majority of our boys and 
girls leaving school, and the parents of these children, were 
guided by no sound principles in their choice of occupation, 
other than the immediate wage received, and that they gave 
no thought to the future prospects of the industry. New 
nations have always been prodigal in the exploitation of 
their resources, both natural and human. In the past if a 
wrong calling was chosen or no choice was made, the wealth 
of opportunity and abundance of resource furnished a fair 
chance of getting a living. Just as the fertility of the soil 
and the extent of our forests seemed limitless, so human 
opportunity seemed to present itself at every turn, and a 
worker could afford to transplant herself many times be- 
cause conditions were so favorable. But the economic 
conditions which made this possible have changed, and a 
choice once made cannot now be altered without loss and 
waste. 

The United States, like many of the crowded European 
countries, has come to that point in its economic history 
when it must pay adequate attention to the elimination of 
waste if its people are to be fed, clothed, and sheltered. 
Haphazard choice with its consequent failure, waste, and 
change cannot any longer be ignored or allowed to go on 
unhindered. In the last analysis the suitability of the oc- 
cupation, and the efficiency of the worker, are the foundation 
of individual and national success. How to secm-e this 
suitability with a reasonable amount of certainty, and still 
preserve to the individual the right and the opportunity to 
improve her condition, is the problem with which vocational 
guidance must concern itself. 

There is ample evidence to prove that in the majority 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 379 

of cases occupations are not chosen, but are simply drifted 
into. '' Boys (and girls) find themselves in their vocation 
as the result of custom, heredity, propinquity, or accident, 
far oftener than through deliberate or conscious choice." ^ 
Among the answers given to the question, '' Why did you 
choose your present occupation ? " occur the following : 
*' Because that is what the other girls were doing." " Be- 
cause I happened to get a job at that trade." " It was the 
first thing I saw." One parent said : " There are so many 
girls hunting for jobs that we thought that she had better 
take the first she could get." In a vocational school in 
Rochester, New York, all of the boys who entered from a 
certain school ^ wished to take up carpentry because one 
boy, who was a leader, came from that school and took up 
carpentry. From another, every boy wished to be a plumber 
and in a short time the school had more plumbers on hand 
than could be properly placed in good positions. Voca- 
tional selection became a game of " follow the leader." 

There are many localities where whole sections of the people 
at first sight seem doomed from birth to enter one occupa- 
tion, and that occupation is the prevailing one of the district. 
In the early days of the vocational guidance movement it 
was contended that vocational education should aim to fit 
for the local industries only, and that vocational guidance 
should guide young people into those industries. It seemed 
to be generally assumed that most people stay where they 
are born, and therefore the greatest good would be done to 
the greatest number by giving them preparation for the work 
that is the predominating industry of their localities. But 
that this is contrary to the fact is shown by Dr. Ayres who 

1 Proceedings of National Child Labor Committee, 1910. 
3 Survey, December 20, 1910. 



380 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

points out ^ that the workers of the United States are a 
migratory lot. Of 22,027 thirteen-year-old boys in the 
public schools of seventy-eight American cities only 12,699, 
or a few more than half, are living in the places of their 
birth. Only one in six of the fathers of these boys is living 
in the place where he was born. It will thus be seen that 
vocational guidance is something more than guiding the chil- 
dren into the industries of the locality in which they may 
happen to be living at any particular time. 

Vocational guidance is no new thing. Wherever there 
are growing boys and gu'ls they have always received ad- 
vice, more or less interested, more or less wise as to the 
occupations that they should enter. There was a time 
when the average child was willing to take advice, but like 
the " man from Missouri," the child now wants to be shown. 

For many years vocational guidance has been given in 
various ways though it was not dignified by that name. 
The movement had attained such proportions in 1910 that 
in that year a national conference was called in Boston, 
and in New York City in 1912. At this latter convention 
a committee was formed to arrange for a convention in 1913, 
and to consider the formation of a permanent organization 
if this seemed advisable. As a result of the deliberations 
of this committee the organization of the National Vocational 
Guidance Association was completed at Grand Rapids, 
October 21-24, 1913. At first sight it would seem that the 
organization of a new society was not necessary. We have 
the National Education Association, Child Labor Com- 
mittees, Consumers' Leagues, and many others, more or 
less concerned with the same problem, but after careful in- 

1 "Vocational Guidance." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 14. 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 381 

vestigation it was concluded that no existing organization 
was in a condition to do the work the new society proposed 
for itself, and which needed immediate attention. In the 
words of the constitution of the society " the objects of this 
association shall be to promote intercourse between those 
who are interested in vocational guidance ; to give a stronger 
and more general impulse and more systematic direction 
to the study and practice of vocational guidance; and to 
cooperate with the public schools and other agencies for 
the furtherance of these objects." 

It will be noticed that the association does not, and 
perhaps wisely, attempt to define what vocational guidance 
really is. In a report of the Superintendent of Schools for 
New York ^ it is stated that *' this modern movement for 
vocational guidance is still little more than a body of good 
intentions without any clarified plan. To different minds 
and in different cities the phrase carries almost opposite 
suggestions for plans." This general haziness still exists 
to a considerable extent, but order is being slowly evolved 
out of chaos, and experiments are being worked out in 
several cities which are doing much good and which may 
eventually result in the formulation of definite policies 
and plans. 

Varying opinions. Probably there is no subject con- 
nected with educational advancement and propaganda upon 
which greater differences of opinion exist than this of vo- 
cational guidance. Some still believe that the problem is 
almost entirely one of placement, that is, guiding individual 
boys and girls into suitable employment. Others think 
that at present there is a state of general ignorance among 
teachers and parents, and that they are in the most need 

^ Fourteenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools, New York. 



382 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

of vocational guidance. Many believe that a careful and 
systematic study of the industries is needed in order that 
vocational counsellors may have an adequate knowledge of 
the conditions into which they send boys and girls. It is 
coming to be recognized by all, that many industries must 
be greatly modified before any organized agency, having 
for its object the real welfare of both the children and the 
industries, can assume responsibility for the employment of 
children in them. There are some who are convinced that 
employers as a class are as much in need of vocational en- 
lightenment as any of the other parties involved. There 
are those to whom vocational guidance means the col- 
lection and distribution of information, and giving advice and 
suggestion based on that information, impartially to all con- 
cerned ; and there are still those who believe that vocational 
guidance is but another form of vocational education. 

These various opinions have dictated different lines of 
action. In some localities stress is laid on one phase, and 
in other localities the emphasis is placed on another. It 
may be said that all phases are necessary, and that all, and 
perhaps others not mentioned, must be included in any well- 
rounded scheme of vocational guidance. 

Many American authorities strongly deprecate guiding 
boys and girls into the industries as now organized. We 
are told that vocational guidance " does not mean selecting 
a pursuit for a child nor finding a place for him." In Eng- 
land the associations formed for the purpose of vocational 
guidance have taken the form of '' Apprenticeship and 
Skilled Employment Associations," and '' labor exchanges," 
managed by boards of trade and boards of education, have 
been established by law. One of the functions of these is 
said to be " finding definite and suitable openings for the 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 383 

children." On the other hand the following occurs in the 
report of a vocational guidance survey made in New York ;* 
" A system of vocational guidance which would mean finding 
jobs for children under sixteen would be not only futile, 
but dangerously near exploitation, however well meant the 
intention might be. The facts show that broadly speaking 
there are no jobs for children under sixteen which they ought 
to take. Employers' remarks in regard to children under six- 
teen add to this impression. ' We don't want boys and girls 
under sixteen.' 'They are too young.' 'We have no time 
to train them.' ' They waste too much material.' ' They 
are not ready to learn anything until they are sixteen.' " 

It is a delightful theory that boys and girls should not go 
to work until they are sixteen years of age, but it is a theory 
only. We are faced by the solid fact that scores of thousands 
of children leave school at fourteen or younger and do go to 
work, and no amount of theorizing will alter the fact. It is 
a condition we have to grapple with and not a theory. Let 
us all work for compulsory education and its enforcement, 
until sixteen years of age is reached, and some part-time 
education till eighteen, but in the meantime let us not doom 
thousands of children to enter industry with blind eyes with- 
out advice, assistance, or suggestion. 

Vocational guidance in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the 
British Isles the bodies referred to above are doing re- 
markable work. One of the most efficient of these advisory 
and placement schemes is that which has been evolved in 
the city of Edinburgh.^ In this city the advisory, place- 



» Fourth Annual Report of the Factory Investigating Commission, New 
York. 

2 ' ' The School and the Start in Life." United States Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1914, No. 4. 



384 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ment, and continuation school activities are all centered in 
the offices of the Edinburgh School Board. The bureau for 
vocational assistance was established in 1908, and a law 
was passed to allow money to be spent from the school 
funds for its organization, but no special sum was appro- 
priated. The organization of continuation classes was 
placed in charge of the new bureau, thus recognizing the 
connection between continued education and leaving school 
at fourteen. 

The first effort of the director of this bureau was to call 
the attention of those leaving school for work to the op- 
portunities offered by the continuation classes. In 1910 
the Board of Trade opened a labor exchange, and with two 
agencies in the field there was much danger of overlapping. 
The need for a working arrangement between the two bodies 
was "obvious both from the point of view of economy of 
public money and from that of healthy civic and industrial 
organization." A memorandum was drawn up and a satis- 
factory agreement reached between the two bodies. In 
that memorandum the functions of a juvenile employment 
agency are stated as follows: 

1. Advice to juveniles as to the pursuits for which they 
are, by ability, character, taste, and education, suited. 

2. Advice to juveniles as to the opportunities which exist 
in the various occupations. 

3. Collection and promulgation of general information 
in regard to industrial conditions. 

4. Registration, i.e., bringing into contact the employer 
with a specific position to offer, and the juvenile suited for 
and desiring such a position. 

5. The supervision, in certain cases, of the juvenile after 
he has obtained employment, so that he is induced to take 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 385 

advantage of all educational facilities applicable to his work 
and is advised as to the various steps in his industrial career. 

6. The keeping of the system of further education in real 
touch with the industrial needs of the locality. 

It was at once admitted that numbers one, five, and six 
are the sole concern of the educational authorities. Number 
three (the collection of information) was definitely allotted to 
the labor exchanges. Number two (giving information as to 
industrial opportunities) was argued in the memorandum for 
the board of trade on the one side and the board of educa- 
tion oh the other and the conclusion was reached that the 
balance of argument lay in favor of placing it under the 
educational authorities. In regard to number four a com- 
promise was arranged to the following effect. The registra- 
tion clerk and machinery remained part of the organization 
of the labor exchange, but was to be housed in the same oflBce 
as that of the bureau, thus establishing the closest coopera- 
tion between the two. 

The plan is worked as follows. Under the Scotch Act 
school boards may fix dates for leaving school. Several 
weeks before the next fixed date each head master (principal) 
fills up cards giving particulars of age, physical ability, and 
grade in school. The cards also contain the opinion of the 
teacher as to the occupation for which the pupil is suited 
and notes as to proposed employment, suggestions for fur- 
ther education, and spaces for general remarks. These 
cards are sent in to the education officer, who files them for 
future use. The parents of the pupil are often invited to 
an evening meeting and addressed by members of the board 
and the teachers, on the subject of vocational choice. Cir- 
culars are sent to those who do, and to those who do not at- 
tend these meetings. 
2c 



386 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

A large number of the boys and girls come to the board 
office to follow up the card. A visit is &st paid to the ex- 
change officer's room, and the card is stamped with the 
reference number of the occupation desired. The candidate 
then passes to the educational officer, where a general talk 
takes place on aims and prospects. After this the boy or 
girl is definitely registered for a particular kind of employ- 
ment. Employers are informed of the joint arrangement, 
and their cooperation requested. Both officers make sys- 
tematic visits to factories to study industrial conditions 
to gain ideas for the improvement of continuation classes 
and to inform the employers of the facilities for supplying 
them with suitable workers. The following is a copy of 
one of the circulars issued. 

Thoughts for a Girl on Leaving School 

1. Consider what you are best fitted for ; ask your parents and 
your teacher what they think. 

2. Choose healthy work ; remember that domestic service offers 
food, home, and comfort as well as work and wages ; that it is the 
training for the future home Ufe of the woman and that, with char- 
acter and ability, it will command good wages in any part of the 
country. 

3. If you prefer a trade, choose one in which you will be likely 
to find employment anyivhere and at any time ; learn it thoroughly 
so that employers will value your services. Do not change from 
one thing to another without good reason. 

4. Stick to your school to the last possible moment, and make 
good use of it ; later on you will see better than you do now how 
much the school work has helped. And "keep it up" by going 
to a continuation school when you leave the day school. 

5. Remember that in the continuation schools you can receive 
instruction in subjects which are directly related to the various 
occupations open to girls and young women, and also the domestic 
training which will enable you to discharge with intelligent interest 
the responsible practical duties of the home. 

6. If the work you take up is not satisfactory, stick to it till you 
get something really better. In any case come back to the school 
and tell your teacher how you are getting on. 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 387 

7. Be brave and cheerful in whatever work you choose. You 
will find nothing perfect ; but perseverance and hard work during 
the first few years will make the rest of life more easy. 

8. The educational information and employment department, 
14 Cornwall Street, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Saturday 
10 A.M. to 12.30 P.M.) and on Monday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
You can there obtain — free of charge — advice and information as 
to suitable employment and further education, and through the 
agency of the department you may obtain employment for which 
you are fitted. 

In the summer of 1910, before the plan had been long in 
operation, the school board made an investigation into the 
different kinds of employment open to young children in 
order to gain a clear idea of the range of industrial oppor- 
tunity, and of the type of schooling required in the different 
occupations. This shows a list of sixty-seven different occu- 
pations open to boys and forty- three open to girls. A copy 
of this census has been supplied to the schools, besides a 
series of booklets for boys and girls. A copy of the hand- 
book, "Occupations for Girls," is sent to each girl nearing 
the leaving age. 

One of the main features of this scheme is the encourage- 
ment of attendance at evening classes, and the success is 
shown by the fact that during the last six years the enrol- 
ment has increased by 189 per cent. In its report on the work 
in Edinburgh the Scotch Education Department says : " Good 
organization, the cooperation of the educational authorities, 
and a public opinion increasingly alive to the importance 
and necessity of the work, have combined to secure a very 
rapid development of the continuation class system in Edin- 
burgh. The Edinburgh School Board maintains a position in 
the front rank of enlightened educational authorities by the 
unstinted exertion and enterprise with which it has grappled 
with the very difficult problems of continued education." 



388 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

The placement of elementary school pupUs. The fact 
cannot be disputed that a large number of children leave 
school at fourteen years of age or younger to earn wages in 
some form of industrial occupation. Shall we allow these 
children of fourteen to drift into blind-alley or dead-end 
jobs because we think they should not be in industry? It 
is not a question of placing them in the best jobs; it is a 
question of placing them temporarily in the least demoral- 
izing jobs. The girl should be assisted in finding her first 
job and supervised in her early working life. If this su- 
pervision or follow-up work can be brought about, it will 
have two very desirable effects ; first of all, it will probably 
result in sending many of the children back to school instead 
of into industry, and it may lead them out of the unskilled 
job to others with some prospect of advancement through 
the encouragement given to continued education. Indeed 
it may be said paradoxically that the best placement work 
is that which dissuades the child under sixteen from enter- 
ing industry at all. 

If a girl, however, must go to work at fourteen years of age, 
let us give her the best advice our limited knowledge of in- 
dustry renders possible, and keep oversight of her until she 
is so trained that it is possible for her to take the next best 
job. Placement of children at fourteen years of age, with- 
out an adequate follow-up system, may do considerable harm. 
Placement of these children depends on two things; first, 
knowledge of the industries to which it is proposed to send 
them, and secondly, accurate data about the children them- 
selves. The first will be dealt with later. With regard to 
the second, the collection of data should begin the moment 
the child enters the elementary school, and by the time the 
girl has passed through the school, there should be available 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 389 

a complete record of her educational history, and any par- 
ticular aptitude she has shown. With such information 
available the character and ability of the girl would be ac- 
curately known, and reliable advice based on this knowledge 
might be more safely given. 

Placement of high school pupils. The question of the 
placement of the girl who has had one or two years in the 
high school does not present such undesirable features. 
During the early years of the high school course it is pos- 
sible to give definite information and instruction, by the 
use of which the student herself will be able to exercise a 
wise choice of an occupation. The whole organized voca- 
tional movement is really the outgrowth of the attempts 
by one teacher to help his students to choose and secure 
work. The High School Teachers' Association of New 
York^ through its student's aid committee took the lead, 
and by 1908 there was in each day and evening high school 
a teacher or committee of teachers to help students to de- 
cide what vocation to choose, and also to teach them how 
to enter it. These committees stated their objects to be 
as follows : 

" In order that local committees and the teachers of the 
several schools may be better prepared to help pupils who 
leave school to fit themselves to their environment, the gen- 
eral committee has planned to collect and make available 
information regarding — 

1. The necessary and prescribed qualifications for enter- 
ing the skilled trades and learned professions in this city. 

2. The opportunities which are furnished to the young 
people of this city for acquiring these necessary qualifica- 

1 Twenty-fifth Annual Report of Department of Commerce and Labor, 
Washington. 



390 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

tionSj the time usually required, and the expense to the in- 
dividual of qualifying himself. 

3. The restrictions which are placed by labor unions and 
professional bodies upon candidates who desire to enter the 
several skilled trades or professions. 

4. The average remuneration, and the relative permanency 
of employment which a properly qualified person of either 
sex may expect in each of the skilled trades, the learned 
professions, and the commercial pursuits in which young 
people are usually employed." 

If a student is obliged to begin work with inadequate 
equipment for the vocation she has decided upon, the coun- 
selors have arranged in some cases to secure for her three 
or four successive positions in each of which some part of 
the necessary training may be secured. Each of these is 
held until its contribution towards the training required has 
been mastered. By attendance at evening schools the aca- 
demic part of the training is secured. When our knowl- 
edge of the industries is more complete, it may be found that 
a plan of this kind will furnish opportunities for immediate 
wage earning, provide for future advancement, and solve 
many of the problems of the employment of the fourteen 
year old girl. 

Information needed regarding industries. The New 
York report above referred to says : " It is useless to attempt 
to guide children into ' vocations ' before we have more 
information. Neither the vocational guidance survey, nor 
any other organization has adequate information at present 
about the demand for workers, or the opportunities for and 
conditions of work and training in the twenty largest indus- 
tries, not to mention the legion minor ones." * Without 

1 Fourteenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools, New York. 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 391 

agreeing with the statement that " it is useless to attempt to 
guide children into vocations " there can be no doubt that 
more information about the industries is urgently needed. 
That this need is now recognized is shown by the numerous 
industrial and educational surveys that have been and are 
being made in different communities. After the survey 
has been made, the next step is to get the information that 
has been gathered into the hands of the people for whose 
benefit it has been collected, in such a form that it can be 
easily digested and applied to their needs. It is very ques- 
tionable whether even the information already available 
reaches those for whom it is really designed. Many of the 
surveys are published in such a logical, scientific, technical 
form, that even if they got into the hands of the majority 
of the parents, they would not be understood. What is 
wanted is a series of small pamphlets giving the essential 
facts — pay, promotion, working conditions, demand for 
labor, continuity of employment, training required, etc., in 
such a way that can be understood by parents and pupils. 
Bulletins of the character of those published by the Girls' 
Trade Education League of Boston are calculated to be of 
the greatest assistance in making a wise choice. 

Wages. The first question asked by both pupils and 
parents concerning any industry is. What wages does it pay ? 
At the risk of being accused of being mercenary and material- 
istic it must be admitted that this attitude is praiseworthy 
and legitimate. The mistake that is made by the average 
parent is that of looking for immediate returns. One great 
function of the vocational guidance movement should be to 
give reliable information upon the financial side of the in- 
dustry, and to show clearly that the time spent in further 
training actually pays in dollars and cents, and that the earn- 



392 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

ings of the girl with a longer training are much greater when 
the aggregate is taken into account, and spread over a num- 
ber of years, than those of the untrained girl. Germany is 
often quoted as the example we should follow in vocational 
education, and it would be thought that here we should find 
some definite data showing the relationship between wages 
and training, but " two well-known educators who have made 
special search in Germany for such information write that 
they have never been able to find any." ^ 

Of course in a country where caste and class lines are 
sharply drawn, where the vocation of a boy or a girl is 
largely fixed by social rank, and where the educational 
system is so stringently regulated by compulsion, it is per- 
haps not necessary that such information should be given 
in order to convince the parent, but on this American con- 
tinent where every parent, every young man or young 
woman is free to choose, such information must be given if 
an intelligent choice is to be made. 

It need hardly be said that there are other tests of the 
value of vocational training besides that of money value. 
The saving of a child from blind-alley and dead-end occupa- 
tions, protection against unemployment, the development 
of a happier and more contented industrial life, training for 
efficient citizenship, and the guidance of youth into lines of 
work for which they are best fitted are all part of the purpose 
of vocational guidance, but these are objects towards which 
the parent and pupil must be educated, and wage-earning 
capacity is the best method of approach for the average 
parent and pupil. Let us now take some examples of the 
kind of information on this subject that is best calculated to 

^ Fourth Annual Report of the Factory Investigating Commission, New 
York. 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 393 

appeal to the parents and children and that must be pos- 
sessed by the one who attempts to give vocational guidance. 

" The average annual earnings of women over sixteen years 
of age in the shirt factories of New York is $327 ; the aver- 
age earnings of over three hundred stenographers employed 
in the several departments of the city governments of which 
the pay rolls were examined was $954. These women se- 
cured their appointments because of their special training. 
Their income for their work is over six hundred dollars a 
year more than the income of the factory woman referred 
to. At the age of twenty-five a woman can also secure such 
an annual income for life by a cash payment of twelve thou- 
sand dollars to a life insurance company. This means that 
a thorough training in English, stenography, and typewriting 
is worth as much in this market as the annual income of 
twelve thousand dollars." 

" The average annual earnings of 401 nurses in the city 
service is $760. The average annual earnings of over twelve 
thousand women making women's clothing according to the 
census bureau is $398. 

" The four years spent by a girl in high school and the two 
years in a nurses' training school enable her to earn $362 a 
year more than the sewing woman earns. The sewing woman 
could increase her annual income by $362 if she would buy 
an annuity in a life insurance company which would bring 
her $362 a year. This annuity would cost her over seven 
thousand dollars in cash. The special training of the nurse 
girl must be worth this seven thousand dollars." ^ 

The following extract is taken from the fifteenth annual 
report of the New York City Superintendent of Schools. " A 

1 "Choosing a Career for Girls." Circular of Information published by 
Student Aid Committee of High School Teachers' Association, New York. 



394 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 



girl called Anna B. had drifted about for nearly two years 
from one unskilled job to another and never earned more 
than six dollars a week. The family, a large one, was in 
wretched circumstances and was being assisted by the 
Charity Organization Society. The girl was sent to the 
Manhattan Trade School and the small wage she was earning 
was paid to the family by the student aid fund of the school. 
The girl completed her course in operating, and in less than a 
year and a half made at piece work in the busy season as high 
as thirty-five dollars a week. In twenty-three weeks during 
the winter she made over six hundred dollars at straw operat- 
ing, and when the busy season was over she was scarcely out of 
work a day before she found a position at embroidery operat- 
ing at a weekly wage of nine dollars. She was changed from a 
discouraged unskilled worker to a happy, contented, skilled 
one, rejoicing in the fact that she needed help from none and as 
she herself said " was the main support of her entire family." 
The following chart shows in graphic form the difference 
in wages with and without training : 



S StO-V 

-'***-'*^ /as? 

tese 

S4SS 

fSfiS 

//."^ 

/as' 

s.ee 
sss 



WAGes orG/ms mm TffAiwN& 

/S r<f £a >*y4/7^ Of jAo£ 





VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 395 

Dr. Nathan C. Schaeffer, State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction for Pennsylvania, works out the result as 
follows : ^ 

" You will find the value of a boy's time at school by sub- 
tracting the earnings of a life of uneducated labor from those 
of a life of educated labor. If an uneducated man earns one 
dollar and a half a day for three hundred days a year he 
does very well. If he keeps it up for forty years he will 
earn eighteen thousand dollars. An educated man is not 
usually paid by the day, but by the month or year ; you 
will admit that one thousand dollars a year is a low average 
for the earnings of educated labor. For forty years you have 
forty thousand dollars as the earnings of the educated man. 
Subtract eighteen thousand dollars from forty thousand 
dollars and the difference of twenty-two thousand dollars 
must represent the value of a boy's time spent at school 
getting an education. The same method of calculation can 
be applied to the workman who has acquired enough knowl- 
edge to master the details of the job ahead, and the result- 
ing increase in wages multiplied into years amounts into a 
goodly figure." 

A word of caution may be uttered here. Care should be 
taken that wrong inferences be not drawn from information 
of the above character. The money value of longer attend- 
ance at school obtained by comparing the incomes of those who 
have remained to the end of the high school period or some- 
what beyond the grades, by comparing the incomes of persons 
in different social positions and engaged in wholly different 
lines of work is apt to lead to erroneous conclusions, but 
at the present stage of the vocational guidance movement, 
the above data are the only kind available. It is probably 

1 Annual Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1913. 



396 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

quite safe to conclude that prolonged education secures entry 
into more remunerative employment, and that training the 
unskilled worker makes it possible for her to leave the un- 
skilled job and enter more attractive and more remunerative 
employment. 

Other information needed. There is, of course, much in- 
formation other than that concerning wages which it is es- 
sential should be known in connection with the industries, 
and most vocational guidance associations consider the col- 
lection of this information one of their chief functions. The 
Girls' Trade Education League of Boston is carrying on this 
work with great success. This organization investigates all 
occupations employing young girls, paying special attention 
to the conditions under which they work, their wages, the 
possibility of advancement, whether seasonal or steady, and 
other features which determine the character of the industry. 
Success not only depends on the industry but on the girl her- 
self, and this the league recognizes by investigating the quali- 
ties of mind and body needed for success in any given occu- 
pation, and what general training is required. As this in- 
formation is gathered, it is made available for those whom 
it is intended to benefit. The league conducts a vocation 
office and endeavors to help the girl decide upon the particu- 
lar work for which she is best fitted. After a girl is placed, 
she is not lost sight of for at least a year, as it is not always 
possible to place a girl at once in a position that will be per- 
manently suitable. The bulletins published by the league 
are models of what such publications should be. Bulletins 
have been published on " Telephone Operating," " Book- 
binding," "Stenography and Typewriting," "Nursery 
Maid," "Dressmaking," "Millinery," "Nursing," and 
" Salesmanship." Space will not allow of any of these being 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 397 

reproduced in full/ but the following account of the one on 
bookbinding may be given. 

The headings of this bulletin are Nature of the Work; 
Processes — folding, pasting, gathering, collating, sewing, 
which are the parts of the forwarding and finishing done by 
girls; Training required and how secured; Qualifications 
required in the girl ; Positions and Pay ; Opportunities for 
Advancement; Conditions of the Work; Suggestions for a 
Girl Choosing this Vocation ; Report of Massachusetts Board 
of Health on Sanitary Conditions, etc. ; Number of Persons 
Engaged and List of Reference Books. When all the chief 
industries in which women are employed are treated in this 
manner, it will be possible for some judgment to be exercised 
in deciding what occupation to follow. 

Vocational guidance in the high school. Some little 
work towards vocational guidance may perhaps be done in 
the elementary schools in grades seven and eight, particularly 
with those taking differentiated or so-called prevocational 
courses, but the opportunities here are very limited, owing to 
the immaturity of the children ; but the opportunities offered 
in the high school, particularly in the last two years, are much 
greater, though even here it is much to be doubted whether 
some of the methods in use are really effective. In some 
places the students are required to fill up a " self -analysis " 
chart, which is a most difficult proposition for even a mature 
man or woman to undertake. 

A practical experiment in vocational guidance has been 
carried on in De Kalb Township High School, Illinois, for a 
number of years. De Kalb ^ is a manufacturing town of ten 

1 Twenty-fifth Annual Report of Department of Labor, Washington. 
'"Vocational Guidance." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 14. 



398 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

thousand people, with definite agricultural, commercial, and 
professional elements. In this school it was found that thirty 
per cent of the students had made no choice of an occupation. 
Twenty-three per cent of all the students or about fifty per 
cent of the girls were going into teaching (the Northern 
Illinois State Normal School is located in the town) ; ten 
per cent chose bookkeeping and stenography; eight per 
cent chose agriculture; about five per cent engineering; 
then in small groups came the machine trades, music, and 
a number of scattered occupations. In this survey twenty- 
four different occupations were represented. A study was 
next made of the community, and the teacher of manual 
training went from shop to shop in the endeavor to obtain 
answers to the questions on the industrial blank that had 
been drawn up. The commercial teacher did the same with 
reference to commerce. It was found that in almost all 
cases better results were obtained from the shop foremen 
than from the heads of the business. The greatest value of 
this survey conducted in unostentatious fashion was that 
it gave the teachers definite knowledge of the town as an 
industrial community. One of the greatest hindrances to 
vocational guidance has been found to be the ignorance of the 
teacher with regard to the world's work. A simple survey 
of this character would do much to remove this ignorance 
and would place the teachers in a position to rely upon facts, 
and not theories, when advising pupils. 

The principal of the school planned to meet the upper 
classes once a week to talk over the industrial conditions 
relating to the choice of an occupation. The students are 
told that their decision should rest upon two things : first, 
knowledge of themselves and their abilities, and second, 
knowledge of social conditions. The main purpose of these 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 399 

general talks is said to be to give a " bird's-eye view " of in- 
dustry. After a general talk the industrial groups are studied 
in detail, with special reference to the industries of the local- 
ity. The instruction is made as concrete as possible, illus- 
trations being taken from actual life, magazines, and news- 
papers. A scrapbook is made from this material, and it is 
often found as a result of these talks that a pupil changes 
his decision, having previously chosen a vocation upon 
insufficient knowledge. For addresses and talks of this char- 
acter there is a mine of unused material in the commercial 
travelers who periodically visit most towns, and who, owing 
to poor railway connections, often have time on their hands. 
These travelers are often men who have made good in trade, 
they know their own work thoroughly, and are in possession 
of much information concerning the occupations of others. 

The second part of the work deals with personal character- 
istics, or, as it is called, "applied ethics.'* Such qualities as 
personality, involving voice, dress, manner, courtesy, tact, 
efficiency, upright character, loyalty, etc. This is not only 
vocational guidance, but it is moral guidance also. The 
possibilities of a plan of this kind, particularly in the small 
high school, are very great, and it may be found that this 
plan or a modification of it will be found feasible in the 
higher grades of the elementary school. Some such plan 
is necessary there, as it is only when this work is brought 
right down to the elementary school that it will materially 
affect the mass of the industrial workers, and benefit that 
large number who never enter a high school. 

In the future science may discover certain psychological 
tests that will demonstrate the fitness of boys and girls for 
certain employments, but as yet the chief methods used are 
character analysis and reliance upon more or less imperfect 



400 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

knowledge of the industries, though some little has been done 
in the other direction.^ 

Qualifications of the vocational adviser. The only other 
feature of this work that can be dealt with here is the train- 
ing of persons so that they will be able to offer real vocational 
guidance. Advice is cheap, and it is much to be feared that 
vocational direction has been given without sufficient atten- 
tion being paid to vital factors. One writer has said : " I 
wish all vocational guiders were compelled to be situated as I 
was — that they were forced to bear the expense of their fail- 
ures to * guide right ' the boys and girls who apply to them 
for direction. If this condition could obtain universally, I 
am sure that those who undertake to become * experts ' 
in this particular calling would be quite careful how they en- 
tered upon this profession as a means of livelihood.'* 

When it is remembered that upon the soundness of the 
counsel given the permanent welfare of the individual 
largely depends, it will be readily seen that to assume re- 
sponsibility for such counsel is no light task, and the per- 
son who assumes it should have certain definite qualities 
and training. She should have the necessary information 
about the industries, experience in dealing with the individual, 
an attractive personality, and a certain capacity for construc- 
tive research. She needs information about the industrial 
world, and an insight into the character of the people en- 
gaged in it. This industrial world is now of so complex a char- 
acter that no one person can be expected to know all about it ; 
but by a system of grouping, first into the large divisions and 
then into the major subdivisions, a fairly accurate idea may be 
obtained of the whole field. " The fundamental elements 

^ "Vocational Guidance." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 14. 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 401 

involved in the larger groups of occupations and their more 
important subdivisions the vocational counselor should 
know as the analytical chemist knows the elements, the fam- 
ilies of elements, and the compounds of these elements and 
families of elements." ^ This problem is of course compli- 
cated by the constantly changing character of the industries. 
New inventions are constantly driving out whole groups of 
workers. The sewing machine changed the character of the 
needle trades. The typewriter revolutionized the character 
of office work, and now the dictaphone is threatening to 
lessen the demand for stenographers. It is futile to counsel 
100 people to enter an industry that can only absorb twenty- 
five. "A statement in the Millinery Trade Review, the offi- 
cial journal of the trade, after quoting census figures showing 
that in 1890 there was one milliner to 323 women fifteen 
years of age and over, and in 1900 one in 285, adds that if 
the manual training schools and technical institutions con- 
tinue to turn out milliners in the next ten years as they have 
in the last decade, there will be one milliner to every one 
hundred women in the not far distant future." 

The vocational counselor must also know men and women. 
She must know how to make records and tests of the individ- 
ual, and how to interpret them correctly when made. She 
must have a background of experience of young people in 
their homes, in their work, and in their social intercourse, 
and perhaps above all she must have common sense, than 
which nothing is more uncommon. 

In view of the fact that nothing changes more frequently 
than vocational conditions, the counselor must be capable 
of making and directing such research work and surveys 

^ "Vocational Guidance." United States Bureau of Education, Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 4. 

2d 



402 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

as will keep her in closest touch with current movements. 
She should also be able to devise new methods of inquiry 
and new methods of using the information obtained and 
bringing it to the people for whom it is intended. 

Looked at from all points of view, the conclusion is inevi- 
table that the vocational counselor cannot do her work with- 
out professional training. In the past the vocational guid- 
ance movement has followed to some extent the vocational 
education movement, in that schools were established before 
teachers were trained. But now it is being admitted that 
training for this profession is necessary, and college courses 
are being offered for vocational counselors. Such a course 
is provided by the Boston Union in cooperation with the 
vocational bureau, and the Tuck School of Finance and Busi- 
ness Administration at Dartmouth is offering a course for 
department managers to consider the problems arising in 
connection with the examination, employment, and training 
of a staff of employees. 

The vocational counselor, properly trained, will be able to 
bridge the gap between the industrial world and the schools, 
and thus bring about a readjustment of social and economic 
conditions which will do much towards giving us a happy, 
efficient, productive, and contented people. 

Conclusion. The above treatment of the subject has con- 
cerned itself, designedly, with the vocational guidance of girls 
into industrial and commercial pursuits or the so-called non- 
professional occupations. In so doing it has followed the 
path the movement itself has almost exclusively taken. 
Herein lies a real danger. In so restricting itself there is a 
possibility that many girls may be almost forced to enter 
industrial and commercial fields, who have the aptitude and 
capacity for other kinds of work, and who, if wisely guided. 



VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 403 

might enter them with individual profit, and to the benefit 
of society in general. There may be need for many of these 
girls to enter some occupation which will offer immediate 
results in the way of financial returns, but this occupation 
should be regarded as temporary, to be continued only until 
such time as the opportunity presents itself to enter the 
occupation for which the girl has the greater aptitude and 
capacity. 

It should always be remembered that vocational guidance 
must have as its first and perhaps only aim the welfare of the 
individual and through the individual the well-being of the 
community. The movement is intended to benefit in- 
dustry only so far as the success of the individual reacts upon 
the industry in which she is engaged. There are many 
difiiculties — social, educational, economic, and psychologi- 
cal — in the way of the evolution of wholly satisfactory voca- 
tional guidance, and there are not to be found at present many 
striking examples of complete success, but the important 
bearing the subject has upon the welfare of the common- 
wealth justifies the further investigation and experimenta- 
tion necessary to evolve completely successful plans for 
bringing about that ideal state of affairs where every in- 
dividual shall find herself in the occupation in which she can 
best earn a living for herself and perform the greatest 
service to society. 

It is to be hoped that in the future much more attention 
will be given to this important subject of the vocational edu- 
cation of girls and women than has been devoted to it in the 
past. The field is broad and the opportunities are many. 
No attempt has been made to exhaust the subject, and many 
phases of it have scarcely been touched upon, but the hope 



404 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 

is expressed that what has been said may direct more atten- 
tion to the question and that the examples cited will point the 
way to fm-ther efforts to materially improve the condition of 
the industrial worker, whether she be employed in the home, 
the store, the office, or the factory. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. BOOKS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT GENERALLY 

Ayres, Leonard P. Constant and Variable Occupations and their 

Bearing on Vocational Education. Russell Sage Foundation. 
Discusses the distribution of industries throughout the United 

States. 
Laggards in our School. Charities Pubhcation Committee, New 

York. 236 pages. 
A study of retardation and elimination in city school systems. 
Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. Annual Reports of the 

Commissioner, especially : 
1908. Chapter 12. Industrial Training. 

1911. Introductory Statement — Vocational Training. 

1912. Chapter 10. Progress in Vocational Education. 

1913. Chapter 6. Progress in City School Systems. 
Chapter 11. Progress in Vocational Education. 

1914. Chapter 1. General Survey of Education — Vocational 
Education. 

1915. Chapter 9. Vocational Education. 

1916. Chapter 9. Vocational Education. 

Bulletin No. 25. 1913. "Industrial Education in Columbus, 
Ga." 

A description of the methods taken to introduce vocational 
courses into two schools of this city. Includes A School for 
Children of Mill Operatives, The Industrial High School, 
Vocational Courses, Home Economics, Dressmaking and MilH- 
nery. Textile Arts, and Business Training. 

Bulletin No. 29. 1915. "The Extension of Pubhc Education — 
a Study in the Wider Use of School Buildings." 

A description of various activities, including those of girls, carried 
on in pubhc schools outside of the regular school hours. 
Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D. C. Bul- 
letin No. 162. "Vocation Education Survey of Richmond, 
Va." 333 pages. 

405 



406 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A survey made by the National Society of Industrial Education 
in cooperation with the Richmond Board of Education. 
Boston. Annual Report of the School Committee, 1912. 

A report made to the "fathers and mothers of Boston," giving a 
popular account of aU the educational efforts of the city educa- 
tional authorities. 
BuRSTALL, Sarah A., and Douglas, M.A. Public Schools for 
Girls. Longmans, Green, and Co. 302 pages. 

A series of papers on the aims, history, and schemes of study of 
pubUc schools for girls. 
Darroch, Alexander, M.A. Education and the New Utilitarian- 
ism. Longmans, Green, and Co., New York. 169 pages. 

Contains chapters on Two Ideals of the End of Woman's Educa- 
tion, and The Place of the Domestic Sciences in the Education 
of Girls. 
Dean, Arthur D. The Worker and the State. A Study of Educa- 
tion for Industrial Workers. The Century Co., New York. 
355 pages. 

In addition to a comprehensive and scholarly treatment of the 
whole subject the book contains a valuable chapter on "Women 
in Home and Industry." 
Dooley, Wm. H. The Education of the Ne'er-do-well. Houghton 
Mifain Co., Boston. 

Deals with the problem of the large number of boys and girls of 
limited ability who have to leave school early. 
Evans, Arthur M. Vocational Education in Wisconsin. Com- 
mercial Club of Chicago. 

A series of articles prepared for the Chicago Record-Herald. 
Gillette, John M. Vocational Education. American Book Co., 
New York. 303 pages. 

Discusses the educational and psychological theory underlying 
vocational education. Divided into three parts as follows — 
The Educational Renaissance, Social Demands on Education, 
and Methods of Socialization. 
Leavitt, Frank M., and Brown, Edith. Prevocational Education 
in the Public Schools. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 

OutUnes in a readable form the lessons to be learned from a 
number of experiments that have been conducted in various 
cities. Deals with boys and girls between twelve and fifteen 
years of age, and offers suggestions for classes of what the 
authors term the "prevocational type of pupil." 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 407 

LuTZ, R. R. Wage Earning and Education. The Survey Com- 
mittee of the Cleveland Foundation. 1916. 208 pages. 

One of the twenty-five sections of the report of the education sur- 
vey of Cleveland. 
National Society for the Promotion op Industrial Education. 

Bulletin No. 16. 309 pages. 

Contains articles on "The Training of Teachers," "Debatable 
Issues in Vocational Education," "Conservation of the Next 
Generation j" and "Cooperation between Schoolmaster and 
Layman." 

Bulletin No. 18. 261 pages. 

Deals with Vocational Education in Michigan, Vocational Guid- 
ance, The Short Unit Course, Plans for Surveys, Vocational 
Education for Women and Girls, Chambers of Commerce and 
Vocational Education, and Part-time Schools. 

Bulletin No. 19. 

A special report on the selection and training of teachers for state- 
aided industrial schools. 

Bulletin No. 23. *' Evening Vocational Courses for Girls and 
Women." 

Treats of trade extension courses, vocational homemaMng courses, 
household arts and recreational courses, and gives samples 
of various record forms that have been successfully used. 
Seath, John. Education for Industrial Purposes. Education 
Department, Toronto. 

Describes schools and systems in England, Scotland, France, 
Switzerland, Germany, United States, and Ontario. The 
schools were personally visited by the author. 
Talbot, Marion. The Education of Women. University of 
Chicago Press, Chicago. 255 pages. 

This book was written owing to "the behef that current discus- 
sion of educational aims and methods does not adequately take 
into account the needs of girls and women." It is divided into 
three parts : Women's Activities, — past and present. The 
Educational Machinery, and The Collegiate Education of 
Women. A very scholarly treatment of the subject. 
Vocational Education, National Aid to. Report of the Com- 
mission on. 2 vols. 63 Congress, 2d Session. 

A comprehensive investigation into the need for federal grants to 
the different states in order to promote vocational education. 
Contains much valuable material. 



408 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

"Vocational Training in Chicago and Other Cities." City 
Club of Chicago. 315 pages. 
An analysis of the need for commercial and industrial training in 
Chicago, and a study of present provisions therefor, in compari- 
son with such provision in twenty-nine other cities together with 
recommendations as to the best form in which such training may 
be given in the pubhc school system of Chicago. 

2. HOUSEHOLD ARTS 

Bevier, Isabel, and Usher, Susannah. The Home Economics 
Movement. Whitcomb and Barrows, Boston. 

Deals with the beginning of education for girls in the United 
States, of the development of home economics courses from the 
state colleges of agriculture and from cooking schools, and the 
beginnings of the work in the grade schools through extension 
of the " kitchen garden." 
Board of Education, London, England. Special Reports on 
Educational Subjects. Vol. 15, "The Teaching of Domestic 
Science in the United States." 374 pages. Vol. 16, " The Teach- 
ing of Domestic Science in European Countries." 352 pages. 

These two volumes offer a most comprehensive and thorough 
treatment of the whole subject of "school training for the 
home duties of women." 
Boston. Annual Reports of the Superintendent of Schools. 

AU contain much useful material along the new lines of educational 
effort. 
Bruere, Martha B. and Robert W. Increasing Home Efficiency. 
Macmillan Co., New York. 318 pages. 

Advocates the application of business and factory methods to the 
management of the household. Discusses budgets, labor- 
saving devices, markets, public utilities, schools, the avenues 
of investment, and many other features of the scientific manage- 
ment of the home. An exceedingly useful book. 
Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. Annual Reports of 
the Commissioner of Education, particularly : 

1908. Chapter 13. Home Economics. 

1911. Chapter 8. A School for Homemakers. 

1912. Chapter 12. Purpose, Methods and Results of the Parent- 
Teacher Cooperative Associations of the National Congress 
of Mothers. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 409 

1914. Chapter 13. Education for the Home. 

Chapter 16. Education for Child Nurture and Home 
Making outside of Schools. 

1915. Chapter 12. Home Economics. 
Chapter 14. Home Education. 

1916. Chapter 16. Home Economics. 
Chapter 17. Education in the Home. 

Bulletin No. 10. 1912. "Bibhography of Education in Agricul- 
ture and Home Economics." 

Entries 1-377 deal with agricultural education. 

Entries 378-578 deal with home economics education. 

BuUetins (1914). 

No. 36. "Introductory Survey. Equipment for Household Arts." 

No. 37. "The States and Education for the Home; Rujal 
Schools; Elementary Schools; Normal Schools; Technical 
Institutes ; Various Agencies and Organizations." 

No. 38. "Colleges and Universities." 

No. 39. "List of References on Education for the Home; Cities 
and Towns Teaching Household Arts." 

These four bulletins form probably the most comprehensive study 
of the whole household arts movement yet pubUshed. The 
list of references is particularly valuable. 

Bulletin No. 1. 1915. "Cooking in the Vocational School." 

A comparison of the usual school methods with those that should 
be adopted in the vocational school. Describes a new type of 
equipment approximating that of the home kitchen. 
Caelton, Frank Tract. "Domestic Science or Household 
Economies." In his Education and Industrial Evolution. 
Macmillan Co., New York. 
CooLEY, Anna M. Domestic Art in Women^s Education. Scribner's 
Sons, New York. 

Deals with the methods of teaching domestic art, and its place in 
the school curriculum in the different types of schools. 
Domestic Science. Crete Plan. Department of Public Instruc- 
tion, Lincoln, Neb. 

Outlines a plan for giving household arts instruction in the home. 
The plan is particularly suitable for small towns, villages, and 
rural schools not possessing equipment. 
Evans, Frank. "Domestic Science — facts and figures." South- 
ern School News, January, 1917. 

The writer argues that domestic science is not suited for the 



410 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

grammar grades as it is too difficult. It belongs to the high 
school. The course should cover two years, and the students 
should be graded in it. 
Hamilton, A. E. "Babies in the Curriculum." Journal of Hered- 
ity, September, 1916. 
Tells of a baby adopted by a girls' camp, who taught the girls more 
about mothercraft in a few weeks than they would have 
learned in as many years of the ordinary domestic science 
course. 
"Home Science in Various States of the Union." A series 
of articles appearing in Good Housekeeping, New York. 
Commencing January, 1910, and continued throughout the fol- 
lowing months. 
*' Household Arts in Education." In "Cyclopedia of Educa- 
tion," edited by Paul Monroe. Macmillan Co., New York. 
Contains a short bibhography. 
Indianapolis. Survey for Vocational Education. Vol. 2, 
"A Study of Housekeeping." 
A comprehensive and valuable study of more than 2500 homes. 
Stresses strongly the business side of housekeeping. 
KiNNE, Helen. Teachers College Record. Vol. 10, 1909. Colum- 
bia University. 
Equipment for the teaching of domestic science. 
A comprehensive, 'well-illustrated article : contains 31 illustrations 
of model rooms and equipment, and 33 diagrams of floor plans, 
etc. ; includes a useful chapter on portable equipment. 
Leake, Albert H. "The Woman on the Farm." Chapter 12 of 
M'eans and Methods of Agricultural Education. Houghton 
Mifflin Co., Boston. 
National Education Association. Addresses and Proceedings, 
1914. 
Discuss general educational problems including "the status of 
women," "canning clubs," " prevocational work," "home 
economics," "girls' club work." 
New York City. Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools, 
1914. 
All these reports are valuable. This contains information on 
prevocational training, sewing, cookery, evening schools, 
vocational schools and vocational guidance. 
Pattison, Mary. Principles of Domestic Engineering. The 
Trow Press, New York. 310 pages. Attempts to show that 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 411 

by the use of business methods, and labor-saving machinery 
it is possible to diminish housework by one half and thus allow 
the housewife time to develop intellectually and socially. 

Ravenhill, Alice. Household Administration — its place in the 
higher education of women. H. Holt and Co., New York. 
The preface says "the object of this book is threefold: (1) It 
endeavours to define the importance and scope of household 
administration in the twentieth century. ... (2) It seeks 
to demonstrate the necessity of an adequate preparation for 
all those who assume the responsibility of such administration. 
... (3) It gives prominence to the fact that the domestic arts 
are no collection of empirical conventions to be acquired by 
imitation, or exercised by instinct." 

Richardson, Bertha Jane. The Woman who Spends. A Study 
of her Economic Function. Whitcomb and Barrows, Boston. 
A recognition of the woman as the chief spender of the world's 
income and an appeal to the conscience to exercise this function 
wisely. 

Rose, Mary Schwartz. Feeding the Family. 450 pages. Macmil- 
lan Co., New York. 
The purpose of the author has been to provide a guidebook to 
good nutrition for the numerous housewives who prepare over 
a thousand meals each year. The special food needs of the 
different members of the family are considered. 

Salmon, Lucy M. Domestic Service. Macmillan Co., New York. 
The subject is approached as part of the general labor problem, 
and the book represents the first real attempt to treat it from 
the historical and economic rather than from the personal 
standpoint ; the author suggests that the solution of the problem 
Ues in the recognition of its professional aspects. 

Young Women's Christian Association. Report of the Commis- 
sion on Household Employment, 1915. 
An investigation into the conditions of 299 self-supporting young 
women: 112 in household work, 137 in factories, 15 in depart- 
ment stores, and 35 in offices. Contains much suggestive 
material. 
Bulletin No. 2. "The Road to Trained Service in the House- 
hold." Contains the conclusions drawn from the above 
report. 



412 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

3. INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS AND TRAINING 

Adler, L., and Tawney, R. H. Boy and Girl Labor. Women's 
Industrial Council, London, England. 

Deals with boys and girls as unskilled laborers, the half-time or 
partial exemption system, bUnd-alley occupations and legisla- 
tive remedies. 
Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 

Bulletin No. 17. "A Trade School for Girls." An investigation 
into the needs and possibiUties of the industrial training of girls 
and women in Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Bulletin No. 23. "Some Trade Schools in Europe." 

Describes typical trade schools in seven European countries and 
makes special reference to trade schools for girls. 

Bulletin No. 33. "Problems of Vocational Education in Ger- 
many." Deals with methods adopted in the attempt to train 
the unskilled worker. 
Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D. C. 

Bulletin No. 122. "Employment of Women in Power Laundries 
in Milwaukee." 

A study of working conditions and of the physical demands of the 
various laundry occupations. 

BuUetin No. 123. "Employers' WeKare Work." 

A description of the methods adopted in about fifty establish- 
ments to provide pleasant and hygienic working conditions 
and to afford faciUties for the recreation and education of 
employees. 

Bulletin No. 147. "Wages and Regularity of Employment in 
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry." 

Outhnes plans for the education of workers in the industry. 

Bulletin No. 159. "Short-Unit Courses for Wage Earners and a 
Factory School Experiment." 

Lists short-unit courses in various trades and occupations, and 
discusses their appHcation to trade extension work in part- 
time and evening schools. A valuable bulletin. 

Bulletin No. 180. " The Boot and Shoe Industry in Massachusetts 
as a Vocation for Women." 

A comprehensive study of all features of the industry. Contains 
a section on the methods of learning the trade. 

Bulletin No. 193. " Dressmaking as a Trade for Women in 
Massachusetts." 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 413 

Contains chapters on Evolution of the Trade in the United 
States, The Dressmaking Trade of To-day, Industrial Condi- 
tions in the Trade, Irregularity of Employment, Overtime, 
Wages and Earnings in Boston, Teaching the Trade, Summary 
and Outlook, and a BibHography. 
Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor. 
Contains chapters on Girls' Industrial Schools and Vocational 

Guidance. 
Condition of Women and Child Wage Earners in the United 
States. 

Cotton Textile Industry. 
Men's Ready-made Clothing. 
Glass Industry. 
Silk Industry. 

Wage-earning Women in Stores and Factories. 
The Beginnings of Child Labor in Certain States. A 
rative Study. 
Conditions under which Children Leave School to Go to 

Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Employment. 
History of Women in Industry in the United States. 
History of Women in Trade Unions. 
Employment of Women in Metal Trades. 
Employment of Women in Laundries. 
Infant Mortality and its Relation to the Employment of 
Mothers. 
Vol. 14. Causes of Death among Women and Child Cotton Mill 

Operatives . 
Vol. 15. Relation between Occupation and Criminality of Women. 
Vol. 16. Family Budgets among Typical Cotton Mill Workers. 
Vol. 17. Hook-worm Disease among Cotton Mill Operatives. 
Vol. 18. Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries. 
Vol. 19. Labor Laws and Factory Conditions. 
The above nineteen volumes form the most comprehensive study 
yet made of the condition and prospects of women and girls in 
industry. It did not, however, include household service 
within its scope. 
Bulletin No. 175. "Summary of the Report on Condition of 

Women and Child Wage Earners in the United States." 
This gives in condensed form the findings contained in the above 
nineteen volumes. A very useful summary. 



Vol. 


1. 


Vol. 


2. 


Vol. 


3. 


Vol. 


4. 


Vol. 


5. 


Vol. 


6. 


Lc 

Vol. 


)mpc 

7. 


Work. 


Vol. 


8. 


Vol. 


9. 


Vol. 


10. 


Vol. 


11. 


Vol. 


12. 


Vol. 


13. 



414 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Butler, Elizabeth Beardsley. Women and the Trades. Chari- 
ties Publication Committee, New York. 

This volume is one of six forming the report of the Pittsburg 
survey and was the first survey of the occupations open to 
women in an American city. Some of the chapters are Workers 
and Workrooms, Food Production, The Stogy Industry, The 
Needle Trades, The Cleaning Industries, Metal, Lamps, and 
Glass, Miscellaneous Trades, The Commercial Trades, The 
Social Life of Working Women, Summary of Industrial Condi- 
tions. Contains a short bibliography. 

Saleswomen in Mercantile Stores. Survey Associates, New York. 

An investigation into the working conditions in department 
stores in Baltimore, in regard to comfort, hours, wages, seasons, 
benefit societies and training. 
"Conditions of Saleswomen in Cincinnati Mercantile 
Stores." Consumers' League of Cincinnati. 

Deals with general store conditions — hoHdays, overtime, pay, 
hours of labor, and prospects. 
"Condition of Wage-earning Women and Girls." Connecticut 
State Bureau of Labor. 

Treats particularly of saleswomen in general and ten-cent stores, 
telephone operators, and workers in hotels. 
CooLET, Edwin G. Vocational Education in Europe. 

A report to the Commercial Club of Chicago on the visitation of 
typical vocational schools. Chapter 16 deals especially with 
industrial schools for girls. 
Factory Investigating Commission, Albany, New York. 
Report in five volumes. 

Vol. 1. Industrial Education and Wages. 

Vol. 2. Investigations into conditions in mercantile estabUsh- 
ments, the skirt industry, paper box industry, confectionery 
industry. 

Vol. 3. Deals with vocational training, and its wage value in the 
paper box and candy industries and in department stores. 
"Glance at Some European and American Vocational 
Schools." Consumers' League of Connecticut. 

Gives the results in a popular form of an investigation into some 
typical schools in Germany, Belgium, Holland, England, and 
the United States. 
Hedges, Anna C. Wage Worth of School Training for Girls. 
Teachers College, Columbia University. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 415 

This book has given rise to considerable controversy. The 
attitude of the author is summed up in the following quota- 
tion, "Trade schools for the majority belong to the past when 
preparation for trade was needed. Operations can be learned 
in from a few hours to a few weeks and are best taught in the 
factory whose special methods and machines are not adapted 
to school conditions." 
"Industrial Education." Report of a Committee of the Ameri- 
can Federation of Labor. 1912. 

Deals with the subject generally and contains chapters on indus- 
trial education for girls and vocational guidance. 
"Industrial Home Work in Massachusetts." Labor Bulletin 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, No. 111. 1914. 

Gives the results of an inquiry made in cooperation with the 
Women's Educational Union, Boston. Contains chapters on 
the problems of home work, analysis of conditions in home work 
industries, and detailed reports of various industries. A 
valuable, well-illustrated bulletin. 
"Industries in Public Education, The Place of." National 
Education Association, 1910. 

The report of a committee of eighteen members. While deal- 
ing largely with boys' work, that of girls is not entirely neg- 
lected. 
Lasblle and Wiley. Vocations for Girls. Houghton Mifflin 
Co., Boston. 

Contains chapters on salesmanship, stenography and typewriting, 
the telephone operator, work in a manufacturing establishment, 
cooking, nursing, sewing and millinery, teaching, library work, 
domestic service, etc. 
Massachusetts Commission on Industrial and Technical 
Education, Report of. 1905. 

One of the pioneer reports which still retains much of its original 
value. 
"Massachusetts Independent Vocational Schools." Bulletin 
of the Board of Education, No. 5. 1914. 

Gives full information regarding the different types of schools — • 
full-time day schools, cooperative day schools, part-time schools, 
evening schools. 
National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education. 

Bulletin No. 4. "Industrial Training for Women." 

The subjects dealt with are: The Changed Position of Women 



416 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

in Industry, What Trade Teaching is Accomplishing, Sug- 
gested Schemes for Industrial Training. 

Bulletin No. 9. 

Contains papers on How to Conduct a Trade School for Girls, 
and Woman's Work in Industrial Education. 

Bulletin No. 10. 

Contains addresses on Industrial Education for Women, and The 
Education of Girls. 

Bulletin No. 13. " Trade Education for Girls." 

Deals mainly with education for the needle trades and depart- 
ment stores ; the method of training teachers for trade schools 
is also discussed. 
New York. Seventeenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of 
Schools, 1915. Especially the section on "Preparation for 
Trades." 
North Bennet Street Industrial School, Boston. Annual 
reports. 

Contain much interesting and valuable information concerning 
experiments in vocational education. 
Perry, Lorinda. Millinery as a Trade for Women. Longmans, 
Green, and Co. 

Gives a clear analysis of the organization, processes, seasons, 
wages, and educational conditions of one of the most compli- 
cated trades. The advantages and disadvantages of the trade 
are clearly shown. 
Van Kleeck, Mary. Women in the Bookbinding Trades. Survey 
Associates, New York. 

A patient and careful investigation into the conditions of the 
bookbinding trade, and women's employment therein in New 
York. Deals with wages, home conditions, irregularity of 
employment, overtime, and teaching girls the trade. 
Working Girls in Evening Schools. Survey Associates, New York. 

Gives an extensive view of the workers in the many fields 
of employment represented among the women who attend 
evening schools in New York. Deals with occupations, 
hours of labor, previous schooling, relation of evening schools 
to vocational training, irregularity of attendance, and some 
problems of industrial education. An appendix gives the 
results of a similar investigation in Philadelphia. 
"Vocations for the Trained Woman." Women's Educational 
and Industrial Union, Boston. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 417 

"This book is the outgrowth of a conviction that many women 
who are unfitted for teaching drift into it because it is the 
vocation with which they are f amiUar — that many who make 
poor teachers might become able workers if wisely guided into 
other fields. To suggest to such women some lines of work 
now open to them and the equipment which they shall have 
to justify a hope of success in any given line is the purpose of 
the eighty-three papers which make up the book." 

4. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 

(See also Industrial Occupations and Training) 

Bloomfield, Meyek. Youth, School, and Vocation. Houghton 
Mifflin Co., Boston. 
Deals with the theory of vocational guidance, the methods 
adopted in Europe, and offers very definite suggestions for 
carrying on such work. Contains a very complete bibliog- 
raphy. 
Readings in Vocational Guidance. Ginn and Co., Boston. 
The best literature available at present on this subject is to be 
found in various magazines and addresses. This book is a 
collection of the best of these that have yet appeared. 
Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 

Bulletin No. 4. 1914. "The School and the Start in Life." 
An account of the methods adopted in Great Britain and Euro- 
pean countries to direct boys and girls at the end of their school 
period towards those vocations to which they seem best fitted 
and to assist them in finding profitable employment. 
Bulletin No. 14. 1914. "Vocational Guidance." 
Contains the papers presented at the organization meeting of the 

Vocational Guidance Association in 1913. 
Bulletin No. 21. 1916. "Vocational Secondary Education." 
Contains a valuable chapter on the relationship between voca- 
tional education and vocational guidance. 
Davis, Jesse Buttrick. Vocational and Moral Guidance. Ginn 
and Co., Boston. 
The subjects dealt with are vocational and moral guidance in 
the public schools, the vocationaHzed curriculum, vocational 
counseling, and the problem of placement. Gives a plan of 
organization of such work for cities. 

2e 



418 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Department of Labor, Washington, D. C. Twenty-fifth Annual 
Report of the Commissioner of Labor. 
Chapter 15. Vocational Guidance. 
Dodge, Harriet Hazen. "Survey of Occupations open to the 
Girl of Fourteen to Sixteen Years." Girls' Trade Education 
League, Boston. 
This survey was designed especially to meet the numerous in- 
quiries of teachers, vocational counselors, and social workers 
as to what the girl can do who seeks wage-earning in the earliest 
years in which the law aUows her to engage in it. Preface. 
GowiN, E. B., AND Wheatley, W. a. Occupations. Ginn and Co., 
Boston. 
Part 1 stresses the importance of a life motive and describes a 
method of studying an occupation to determine its desirability. 
Part 2 describes in detail various occupations. 
Part 3 offers suggestions as to securing a position, and gives a 
hst of helpful books on occupations. 
Hollingworth, H. L. Vocational Psychology, — its Problems and 
Methods. D. Appleton and Co., New York. 
Contains a chapter on the vocational aptitudes of women. 
Keeling, Frederick. The Labour Exchange in Relation to Boy and 
Girl Labor. P. S. King and Son, London, England. 
Deals with labor exchanges which are British Government 
organizations for finding suitable employment for boys and 
girls. Contains a useful bibliography. 
Leake, Albert H. Industrial Education, Its Methods, Problems, 
and Dangers. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 
Chapter 8. Vocational Guidance. 
McKeever, Wm. a. Training the Girl. Macmillan Co., New 
York. 
The preface expresses the hope "that the volume may serve 
as a brief compendium of methods, devices, and ideals for girl 
training." The book is divided into four parts — industrial 
training, social training, vocational training, and service train- 
ing. 
Puffer, J. Adams. Vocational Guidance. Rand, McNally Co., 
New York. 
Eighteen chapters. Deals with all forms of vocational guidance 
and the methods to be adopted. A comprehensive treatment. 
Taylor, Joseph S. A Handbook of Vocational Education. Mac- 
millan Co., New York. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 419 

Gives a general view of the whole subject, including vocational 
guidance. 
Trades for London Girls and How to Enter Them. Appren- 
ticeship and Skilled Employment Association. Longmans, 
Green, and Co., New York. 

Suggests various openings possible to London girls. Points out 
the distinctive features of various trades, the best means of 
entering them, and the kind of education required and how to 
get it. 

5. COMMERCIAL EDUCATION 

Allen, Frederick J. Business Employments. Ginn and Co., 
Boston. 

This book deals with the business employments that are open to 
youth, discussing in detail the opportunities on the business side 
of manufactures, trade, and finance. It is based upon the 
studies of the vocation bureau of Boston, 
Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 

Bulletin No. 25. 1916. "Commercial Education." 

A collection of valuable papers. 

Bulletin No. 34. 1916. "Service Instruction of American 
Corporations." 

Gives an account of the methods taken to instruct employees in 
various department stores, telephone companies, and other 
industries. 

Bulletin No. 9. 1917. "Department Store Education." By 
Helen R. Norton. School of Salesmanship, Women's Educa- 
tional and Industrial Union, Boston. 

An excellent bulletin giving an account of the training methods 
developed at the Boston School of Salesmanship. 
Commercial Education. Monographs on Education in the United 
States. Published for the St. Louis Exposition. 

Gives a good historical account of the development of the private 
business college. 
Eaton, Jeanette, and Stevens, Bertha M. Commercial Work 
and Training for Girls. Macmillan Co., New York. 

Particularly full and good on the methods employed by pri- 
vate commercial schools to secure pupils. Deals comprehen- 
sively with office work and the kind of training required 
therefor. 

Bibliography. 



420 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Herrick, Cheesman a. The Meaning and Practice of Commercial 
Education. Macmillan Co., New York. 

Explains the purpose and describes the work of commercial 
schools. Treats commercial education from various points of 
view and shows that it is a result of present economic conditions 
and a natural step in national development. Gives curricula 
for schools of various grades. Bibliography. 
Hoover, Simon Robert. The Science and Art of Salesmanship. 
Macmillan Co., New York. 

Interesting, useful, and comprehensive. 
Indiana State Board op Education. Survey for Vocational 
Education. 

Bulletin No. 21. Vol. 1. Contains recommendations concern- 
ing commercial work, recommendations for courses of study 
and work in salesmanship. Gives an occupational analysis 
of departmental and specialty store work. 

Bulletin No. 21. Vol. 2. Contains a section on salesmanship. 

Bulletin No. 18. Occupational information concerning mercantile 
traffic, mercantile sales, telephone service and office service. 

Bulletin No. 19. Contains a section on retail stores. 
Kahn, Joseph, and Klein, B. J. Principles and Methods of Com- 
mercial Education. Macmillan Co., New York. 

Consists of three parts : Principles of Commercial Education ; 
Special Methods in Commercial Education ; and Special Prob- 
lems in Commercial Education. An authoritative and 
scholarly work. 
National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education. 

Bulletin No. 20. Contains chapters on Fundamentals in Educa- 
tion for Department Stores, The Work of the Departmental 
Store Education Association, Training for Salesmanship, and 
The Health of the Department Store Worker. 

Bulletin No. 21. Report of the MinneapoUs Survey for Voca- 
tional Education. Contains a chapter on What Vocational 
Education is needed for Office Work. 
"Public Schools and Women in Office Service." Women's 
Educational and Industrial Union, Boston. 

The chapters are Introductory, The PubUc School and its Prob- 
lems, Character of Office Service, Wages, Home Life and Re- 
sponsibilities. 
Thompson, F. V. Commercial Education in Public Secondary 
Schools. World Book Co., New York. 

School Efficiency Series, edited by Paul H. Hanus. 



INDEX 



Ability to adapt : 237. 

Academic results : influenced by vo- 
cational training, 160. 

Academic training : at Manhattan 
Trade School for Girls, 283. 

Adjustment of industry to new con- 
ditions : 268, 269. 

Advantages : of prevocational classes, 
162-167; of selling trade school 
products, 300-302. 

Advertisements: answers to, 341. 

Advertising: judicious, 118; methods 
in London, 119, 120; to reach the 
housekeeper, 120, 121 ; circulars 
used for, 121, 123 ; for evening 
schools, 316, 317. 

Advisory boards for evening schools : 
316. 

Advocates of household arts : 34. 

Agreements between schools and 
stores : 372. 

Agricultural colleges : homemaking 
courses in, 182. 

Agricultural Instruction Act: Can- 
ada, 30. 

Aid of practical business men : in 
evening schools, 316. 

Albany vocational school : 176, 177. 

Allowance for the girl who "stays at 
home": 16. 

Ames, Iowa : home credit in, 104, 
105. 

Answers to advertisements: 341. 

Apartments for teaching household 
arts: 76-80. 

Applications of employers : for girls 
from trade schools, 287. 

Apprenticeship and skilled employ- 
ment association : 206, 382. 

Arithmetic : lack of knowledge of, 
340. 



Armstrong Manual Training School, 
Washington : 92, 93. 

Assistance to household arts by 
Canadian Government : 30. 

Associations : of parents and teachers, 
96-98 ; for befriending young serv- 
ants, 199. 

Attendance : at schools in the United 
States, 261 ; officer, new type of, 
needed, 261 ; at evening classes, 
320, 321, 387. 

Ayres, Dr. Leonard P. : 153, 254, 379. 

"Banner of the Constitution" : 228. 

Basis of instruction : family meal as, 
64-66. 

Belgium : economy in teaching sew- 
ing, 40 ; methods of teaching sew- 
ing in, 40, 41. 

Beverly, Mass. : first spinning mill 
at, 227. 

Bischoffsheim school in Brussels : 277. 

Bloomsbury: trade school for girls 
at, 278-280. 

Bookbinding: as an industry for 
girls, 240 ; bulletin on, 397. 

Boston : teaching sewing in, 21, 42 ; 
working in family quantities in, 
66 ; classes for factory girls in, 113, 
114 ; prevocational classes in, 156 ; 
Washington Allston School, 157 ; 
North Bennett Street Industrial 
School, 160, 161 ; spinning craze 
in, 227; "Boston Courier," 229; 
high school commercial courses in, 
336 ; development of commercial 
courses in, 348, 349 ; Clerical High 
School, 352, 353 ; Union School of 
Salesmanship, 363 ; instruction in 
salesmanship, 372; Girls' Trade 
Education League, 396. 



421 



422 



INDEX 



Boys : courses mainly organized for, 
152, 272 ; fourteen year old, not in- 
dustrial assets, 275. 

Bulletins : government, 145, 146 ; 
issued by Girls' Trade Education 
League, Boston, 396. 

Bundle girls : instruction of, 369. 

Business : women in, 335 ; methods, 
ignorance of, 340 ; changing condi- 
tions of, 352. 

Business colleges : 353 ; solicitation 
of pupils by, 354, 355 ; in Chicago, 
356 ; defects of, 356. 

Cambridge: 223; Associated Chari- 
ties, report of, 132. 

Canadian Agricultural Act : 30. 

Center system : 46, 47, 75. 

Certification by Manhattan Trade 
School for Girls : 289. 

Changes : in character of housekeep- 
ing, 33 ; in methods of approach- 
ing subjects, 126, 127 ; needed in 
evening commercial schools, 359. 

Character of instruction : in Man- 
hattan Trade School, 291. 

Cheney, Howard : 252. 

Chicago : business college training in, 
356 ; report to City Club of, 165 ; 
United Charities, report of, 132 ; 
commercial courses in, 336 ; Lucy 
Flower Technical High School, 84. 

Children : earnings of, 266, 267. 

Choice of occupation : reasons for, 379. 

Cincinnati : Associated Charities, 
report of, 133, 134. 

Circulars : used for advertising, 121, 
123 ; to store superintendents, 366 ; 
used in Edinburgh, 386. 

Classes : evening, 123, 124 ; for 
saleswomen in Milwaukee, 264. 

Clerical High School, Boston : 352, 
353. 

Cleveland Girls' Bureau : 340. 

Clubs : federation of women's, 149, 
151. 

Coal or wood stove : absence of, 48, 
51. 

College : credit for household arts in, 
70, 71. 

Commercial schools : students in, 
335 ; in Boston, 336 ; in Chicago, 



336 ; results of, judged by num- 
bers, 337 ; elementary, 343-345 ; 
high, 347 ; development of, 348, 
349 ; pupils leaving, 351 ; sepa- 
rate, 351 ; evening, 357 ; unit 
courses in, 358. 

Commission on National Aid to Vo- 
cational Education, 30-32. 

Conservation of human resources : 
226. 

Continued education in household 
arts: 109. 

Consumers : women as, 24. 

Contempt for manual occupations: 
43, 44. 

Continuation school : Ohio law, 238 ; 
planning of, 239. 

Contract with employer : 238. 

Cookery : teaching, 22 ; and sewing 
instruction, distribution of, 36, 37 ; 
taught without special equipment, 
45, 46 ; teaching, criticism of, 59, 
60 ; waste of time in instruction 
in, 60, 62 ; in microscopic quanti- 
ties, 62, 63. 

Cooperation : of the parent, 95 ; in 
housekeeping, 212-215 ; of stores 
with schools, 364. 

Coordination between schools : 239. 

Copenhagen: school for training 
maids, 186. 

Corson, Miss Juliet : 22. 

Courses of study : Washington Ir- 
ving High School, 79 ; Lucy Flower 
Technical High School, 88-91; 
mainly organized for boys, 152, 
272 ; differentiated, 273. 

Credit for household arts instruction 
in colleges: 70, 71, 

Crete plan of household arts instruc- 
Tion : 162, 103. 

Criticism : of sewing instruction, 37- 
42 ; of cookery instruction, 59, 60 ; 
effects of on manual training, 338 ; 
of curriculum from outside, 338. 

Day school : traditions of, 125, 126. 

Definition of terms : 17. 

De Kalb Township High School: 

vocational guidance in, 397-399. 
Demonstrations : 97. 
Demonstration trains : in West Vir- 



INDEX 



423 



ginia, 141 ; in North Carolina, 141 ; 

in Colorado, 142, 143. 
Demonstration wagons : 143. 
Denmark : homemaking schools in, 

183-186. 
Department stores : 149 ; in New 

York, 258. 
Detroit : Associated Charities, report 

of, 132, 133. 
Differentiated courses : 273 ; in New 

York, 274. 
Disadvantages of prevocational 

classes : 162-167. 
Disposal of product: 63, 298, 303; 

at Manhattan Trade School, 284. 
Divided opinions on employment of 

women : 229, 230. 
Domestic science : 17 ; and domestic 

art, distinction between, 18. 
Domestic service : 188 ; a neglected 

question, 189 ; dislike of, 190 ; 

social stigma of, 191, 192; long 

and irregular hours of, 193 ; an old 

problem, 194 ; old rules for, 195. 
Dress and waist industry : in New 

York, 241-247. 
Dun woody Institute, Minneapolis : 

373. 

Earnings of children : 266, 267. 

Economics : 17. 

Economy in teaching sewing in Bel- 
gium, 40. 

Edinburgh : vocational guidance in, 
383-387 ; circulars issued in, 386 ; 
evening class attendance in, 387. 

Education : considered unnecessary 
for girls, 3 ; of women, Rousseau 
on, 4 ; of the next generation, 109, 
110; content of industry, 241 ; of 
girls leaving school in New York, 
255, 256 ; continued, 263 ; for edu- 
cation's sake, 276 ; part-time, 103 ; 
lack of, 328 ; for office service, 334 ; 
for salesmanship, 361 ; directors in 
stores, 369. 

Eight-four plan : 167. 

Efficient instruction in evening 
schools : 325. 

Electric : and gas companies, assist- 
ance of, 148; washing machine, 
211 ; irons, 202 ; dishwasher, 203. 



Elementary schools : household arts, 
instruction in, 33 ; elimination of 
pupils from, 153 ; and secondary 
schools, break between, 168 ; com- 
mercial education in, 343 ; children 
from, get lowest wages, 345 ; com- 
mercial education in, 346 ; place- 
ment of pupils from, 388. 

Elimination : from high schools, 72 ; 
from elementary schools, 153 ; of 
waste, 378. 

Employees : shifting of, 259. 

Employers : practical interest of, 319 ; 
in need of vocational enlighten- 
ment, 382. 

Employment agencies : abolition of 
private, 206. 

Employment of women : divided 
opinions on, 229, 230. 

Entrance credit for household arts in 
colleges: 70, 71. 

Equipment : character of, 47, 48 ; 
changes in, 49, 50 ; new type of, 
49, 51 ; unsuitable, in high schools, 
75, 76 ; for evening schools, 319, 320. 

Euthenics : 17. 

Evansville vocational survey : report 
of, 170. 

Evening classes and schools : 123, 
124, 310 ; attendance at, 310-313, 
320; essential features of, 314; 
survey before establishing, 314, 
315 ; teachers for, 315 ; aid of 
practical business men in, 315, 316 ; 
advisory board for, 316 ; advertis- 
ing, 316, 317 ; organization of, 317, 
318; registration at, 317, 318 ; ad- 
mission to, 318 ; interest of em- 
ployer in, 319 ; equipment for, 319 ; 
unit courses in, 321-325 ; working 
girls in, 326 ; lack of previous edu- 
cation in pupils of, 328, 358 ; fac- 
tors contributing to success of, 
332 ; commercial, 357 ; occupa- 
tions of commercial students of, 
358 ; commercial, improvement in, 
359. 

Examinations : at School of Sales- 
manship, 367, 368. 

Exercise method of teaching sewing: 
38^0. 

Exploitation of young workers : 383. 



424 



INDEX 



Factors contributing to success of 
evening schools : 332, 333. 

Factory: classes for girls, 113, 114; 
organization, use of, 117, 118; in- 
vestigating commission. New York, 
240 ; organization of school in, 244. 
245 ; system, the modern, 350 ; 
employment, unskilled, 250 ; mo- 
notony of work in, 251. 

Family meal : the basis of instruc- 
tion, 64-66. 

Family quantities : cooking in, 81. 

Farmers' week : 145. 

Federal governments : assistance to 
vocational education, 28-30. 

Federation of all agencies: 151. 

Financial reasons for leaving school : 
267. 

Finishing school : high school as a, 
71, 72. 

Finley, Dr. J. H. : 269. 

Fitchburg, Mass. : differentiated 
courses in, 274, 275. 

Four-year course : aim of, 88. 

Franklin, Ohio : home credit in, 104. 

Fluctuation of employment : 260. 

Functions of juvenile employment 
agencies : 384, 385. 

Gainful occupation : homemaking 
not considered a, 15. 

Gallatin, Albert : 226. 

Gas and electric companies: work 
of, 148. 

Girls : training for two vocations, 7 ; 
who stay at home, allowances for, 
16 ; entering high school without 
knowledge of household arts, 69 ; 
trade schools for, 230, 231 ; leav- 
ing factories, 257 ; courses of study 
not organized for, 272 ; fourteen 
year old, not industrial assets, 275 ; 
completing courses in trade schools, 
290 ; leaving trade schools before 
completing course, 291 ; Bureau 
of Cleveland, 341 ; Trade Educa- 
tion League of Boston, 396. 

Government bulletins : 145, 146. 

Grade teachers : sewing taught by, 
44. 

Graduates : criticism of, by em- 
ployers, 339. 



Grants in aid : recommended by 
Smith-Lever Bill, 29; by Smith- 
Hughes Bill, 29 ; by National Com- 
mission, 305. 

Greenfield, Mass. : housewifery school 
at, 53. 

Hamilton, Alexander: 226. 

Handwork: 17. 

Health instruction : at Manhattan 
Trade School for Girls, 284. 

Hedges, Anna: 251. 

High schools : household arts, in- 
struction in, 69, 84, 85 ; obstacles 
to household arts instruction in, 
69 ; as college preparatory schools, 
70 ; as finishing schools, 71 ; elimi- 
nation from, 72 ; center system 
not common in, 75 ; unsuitable 
equipment in, 75, 76 ; apartments 
for teaching household arts in, 76 ; 
commercial education in, 347 ; as- 
sociations of teachers in, 389; 
pupils of, 389. 

History of instruction in household 
arts : 18. 

Home : changed conditions in, 23, 
24; opportunities offered in the, 
94 ; School, Providence, R. I., 110- 
113. 

Home credit for school work: 99— 
108; in Franklin, Ohio, 104; in 
Ames, Iowa, 104, 105; in Ogden, 
107, 108. 

Home economics : 17. 

Homemakers : conferences, 143, 144 ; 
schools for, 178. 

Homemaking : woman's greatest in- 
dustry, 8 ; talent for, 9 ; influence 
of household arts instruction on, 
10 ; not a gainful occupation, 15 ; 
number of women engaged in, 16 ; 
training in vocational schools, 170, 
171 ; courses in agricultural col- 
leges, 182 ; schools in Denmark, 
183-186. 

Household arts : influence of instruc- 
tion in, 10; history of instruction 
in, 18; demonstration and recog- 
nition of value of, 18 ; present posi- 
tion of, 22, 23 ; state program of 
instruction in, 25-28; instruction 



INDEX 



425 



in elementary schools, 33 ; advo- 
cates, 34 ; two forms of instruction 
in, 35-38; limited time given to, 
45 ; teacher of, 55, 56 ; instruction 
in high schools, 69 ; girls entering 
high schools without knowledge of, 
69 ; not cultural or necessary, 72, 
73 ; lack of knowledge of, 74 ; in 
high schools without special equip- 
ment, 84, 85 ; university courses 
in, 87 ; vocationalization of in- 
struction in, 93 ; instruction in the 
home, 94; parents afraid of 
teachers of, 55, 59, 95 ; Crete plan 
of instruction in, 102, 103 ; con- 
tinued education in, 109 ; movable 
schools of, 137-139 ; short courses 
in, 139-141. 

Household service : making attrac- 
tive, 197 ; fair and just agreements 
for, 197 ; standards of work and 
wages, 197, 198 ; time for rest, 
recreation, and culture, 198, 199 ; 
definite hours for, 199, 200 ; part 
of the general labor problem, 203, 
204 ; as a business, 207 ; work 
outside the home, 208. 

Housekeeper, the visiting : 130 ; 
qualifications of, 131 ; work of, 
132 ; North Dakota Experimental 
Station, 137. 

Housekeeping : changed character 
of, 24, 73 ; part-time instruction 
for, 114-116; at Washington All- 
ston School, Boston, 157; co- 
operative, 212-215 ; standardiza- 
tion of, 215. 

Housewifery : teaching of, 52 ; school 
in Toronto, 53 ; school in Green- 
field, Mass., 53 ; school in Park 
Ridge, N. J., 54; in Manchester, 
52 ; centers in New York, 54, 55. 

Housewives : work of, 16 ; Montclair 
League of, 207 ; classes for, 209. 

Hiunan resources : conservation of, 
377. 

Improvements in the organization 
and teaching of the household arts : 
67, 68. 

Independence ; not being developed, 
64. 



Indianapolis : permits to work in, 
254, 255. 

Industrial employment of women: 
sentiment against, 5. 

Industrial future of the unskilled, 257. 

Industrial life of women thought to 
be short, 5. 

Industrial occupations : numbers of 
women in, 17. 

Industrial school : North Bennett 
Street, Boston, 160, 161. 

Industrial training : method in, 287. 

Industries : modification of, 11; 
women's early, 219, 220 ; training 
for some, impossible, 239 ; educa- 
tional content of, 241 ; monotony 
and speed in, 265, 266. 

Initiative : not being developed, 64. 

Instruction : in history of household 
arts, 18; outside the school, 110; 
by insurance companies, 149 ; to 
girls leaving trade schools, 286, 
287 ; part-time, in salesmanship, 
370. 

Insurance companies : instruction by, 
149. 

Investigation: need for, 231, 232; 
in Troy, 232; in Grand Rapids, 
232 ; in New York, 233 ; into com- 
mercial education in Boston, 349, 
350 ; of industries, 382. 

Irregularity of attendance : at eve- 
ning schools, 311, 312. 

Junior high school : 167 ; definition 
of, 168 ; advantages of, 169 ; 
adaptability to vocational educa- 
tion of, 169. 

Juvenile employment agencies : func- 
tions of, 384, 385. 

Kingsbury, Dr. Susan M. : 233. 
Kitchen : gardening, 19, 20 ; boycott 

of, 188. 
Kleeck, Van, Miss : 240. 
Knowledge : of household arts, lack 

of, 74; general, 243; trade, 243; 

technical, 243. 

Laundry work: neglect of, 51, 52; 

teaching of, in Ontario, 52. 
Leaving certificates : 238. 



426 



INDEX 



Leaving school : financial reasons for, 

267. 
Lectures on store topics : 368, 369. 
Length of the working day : 329, 330. 
London : methods of advertising in, 

119, 120 ; Shoreditch Trade School 

for girls, 175, 176. 
Lucy Flower Technical High School 

for Girls: 84, 88-91. 
Luncheons : service for, 83 ; school, 

99 ; recipes for, 158. 

Maids : school for training, 186, 187 ; 

and mistress, 196 ; better trained, 

209 ; part-time instruction for, 210. 

Maintenance allowances : 268. 

Manchester: housewifery school at, 

52. 
Manhattan Trade School for Girls : 
281-291; trades taught at, 283, 
289 ; academic training at, 283 ; 
health instruction at, 284 ; disposal 
of product of, 284, 302 ; placement 
of girls by, 285, 286 ; instructions 
to girls leaving, 286, 287 ; applica- 
tion of employers for girls from, 
287; student aid fund, 287; cer- 
tification by, 289 ; completing 
courses at, 290; leaving before 
completion, 291 ; character of in- 
struction at, 291. 
Manipulative skill : 244. 
Manual occupations : contempt for, 

43, 44. 
Manual training teachers : kinds of, 

294. 
Markets : controlled by women, 24, 

25. 
Men and women : comparative num- 
bers of, 11. 
Mending squad in Boston schools : 42. 
Menomonee : Stout Institute of, 178, 

179, 180, 182. 
Methods : of teaching sewing in Bel- 
gium, 40, 41 ; of teaching sewing 
in Boston, 42 ; in Montclair, 82 ; 
in Sioux City, 82, 83 ; in prevoca- 
tional schools, 154, 155 ; in indus- 
trial training, 297 ; of selling goods, 
361. 
Microscopic quantities : cooking in, 
62, 63. 



Migrations of United States workers : 
380. 

Milwaukee; trade school for girls 
in, 173, 174 ; classes for sales- 
women in, 264. 

Minneapolis : survey, 237 ; Dun- 
woody Institute, 373. 

Mistresses : and maids, 196 ; with 
adequate knowledge, 208. 

Modification of industry : 11. 

Molineux, William : 228. 

Money : spending of, 86. 

Monotony : of factory work, 251 ; 
and speed in industry, 265, 266. 

Montclair: part-time classes in, 115, 
116; housewives' league, 207; 
classes for maids, 211, 212. 

Mothers' meetings : 98. 

Movable schools of household arts : 
137-139. 

Miinsterberg : "Vocation and Learn- 
ing," 264. 

Murtland, Cleo : 241. 

National aid to vocational education : 
30, 31, 32. 

National Commission on Vocational 
Education : 292 ; grants in aid 
recommended by, 297, 305. 

National conferences on vocational 
guidance : 380. 

National Vigilance Association : 206. 

National Vocational Guidance Asso- 
ciation : formation of, 380 ; 
objects of, 381. 

New York : cooking school, 22 ; 
housewifery centers in, 54, 55; 
Washington Irving High School, 
77, 78 ; associated charities, 133 ; 
Manhattan Trade School for Girls, 
171-173 ; factory investigating 
commission, 240, 257, 371 ; dress 
and waist industry of, 241 ; girls 
leaving school in, 255, 256 ; depart- 
ment stores in, 258 ; differentiated 
courses in, 273 ; evening schools, 
312. 

Nurse : the visiting, 129, 130. 

Objections : to raising school age, 
262, 263; to selling products of 
trade schools, 298. 



INDEX 



427 



Obstacles to household arts instruc- 
tion : 43 ; in high schools, 69. 

Occupations : definition of skilled, 
250; of evening commercial stu- 
dents, 358 ; drifted into, 379. 

Ofiices : education for, 334 ; women 
employed in, 334 ; lack of elemen- 
tary knowledge of employees, 339 ; 
previous education determines po- 
sition in, 345 ; clogged with unfit 
girls, 345. 

Ogden : home-credit in, 107, 108. 

Ohio : continuation school law of, 
238. 

One-process workers : 234, 235. 

Ontario : teaching laundry work in, 
52 ; women's institutes, 144. 

Opinions on vocational guidance: 
varying, 381. 

Organization : of prevocational 
schools, 154, 155; of a factory 
school, 244, 245; of evening 
schools, 317, 318. 

Overtime : 331. 

Parents : cooperation of, 95 ; associa- 
tions of teachers with, 96; visits 
to schools by, 98. 

Park Ridge, N. J. : 54. 

Parloa, Maria, Miss : 22. 

Part-time: instruction for house- 
keepers, 114-116; education in 
Ohio, 237; education, purpose of, 
303, 304 ; education, time for, 305 ; 
education, attitude of employers 
on, 305 ; instruction in salesman- 
ship, 370. 

Penmanship : poor, 340. 

Permit workers : 263. 

Personality : lack of, 341 ; attractive, 
342. 

Philadelphia: Wanamaker store in, 
362. 

Philanthropic bodies : work of, 19. 

Physical education: of the salesgirl, 
375 ; and recreation for the un- 
skilled worker, 269. 

Placement: by Manhattan Trade 
School for Girls, 285, 286 ; of ele- 
mentary school pupils, 388 ; of 
high school pupils, 389. 

Practice : principles instead of, 63, 



64 ; house in Winthrop Normal and 
Industrial College, 80. 

Press : assistance of, 147. 

Previous education determines posi- 
tion : 345. 

Prevocational classes : 153, 275-277 : 
at Lucy Flower Technical High 
School, Chicago, 91 ; objections to 
name, 154 ; purpose of, 154, 155 ; 
division of time in, 155, 159, 160, 
161 ; work for girls in, 156 ; in 
Boston, 156; influence of, on 
academic results, 160 ; advantages 
and disadvantages of, 162-165. 

Prince, Mrs., Director of School of 
Salesmanship : 363. 

Principles instead of practice : 63, 
64. 

Private employment agencies : aboli- 
tion of, 206. 

Private organizations : 149. 

Probationary period at trade schools : 
279. 

Producers : women as, 24. 

Product: disposal of, 63, 284, 298- 
303. 

Prosser, C. A. : 241. 

Providence, R. I. : home school of, 
110-113. 

Public school teachers for trade 
schools : 293. 

Qualifications : for admission to even- 
ing schools, 318 ; of vocational ad- 
visers, 401, 402. 

Raising school age : 262, 263. 
Rapid industrial development: 262, 

263. 
Rearing of children : knowledge of, 

needed, 74. 
Reasons for leaving school : 236. 
Recreation and physical training 

for the unskilled worker : 269. 
Reduction of supply of unskilled 

labor: 260, 261. 
Registration at evening schools: 

317, 318. 
Regularity of attendance at evening 

schools: 320, 321. 
Responsibilities of women : 25. 
Richmond : survey, 252. 



428 



INDEX 



Rochester : school of domestic science 
and art, 178. 

Rousseau : on education of women, 4. 

Rural housewife : work of, 135, 136. 

Russell Sage Foundation: 237; in- 
vestigation by, 326. 

Sadler, Dr. : 239. 

Salesmanship : education for, 361 ; 
pioneer school of, 363 ; instruction 
in stores, 368 ; instruction in Bos- 
ton, 372. 

Salesgirl : physical education of, 375 ; 
point of contact between store and 
customer, 363. 

Schools: New York cooking, 22; 
Lucy Flower Technical High, 84, 
88-91 ; Armstrong Manual Train- 
ing High, Washington, 92, 93 ; 
Home School, Providence, R. I., 
110-113; movable, 137-139; pre- 
vocational, 152-156 ; North Ben- 
nett Street, Boston, 160 ; Wash- 
ington Allston School, Boston, 157 ; 
junior high, 167 ; Manhattan 
Trade School for Girls, 170-173; 
Milwaukee Trade School for Girls, 
173, 174 ; Shoreditch Trade School 
for Girls, 175, 176 ; Albany Voca- 
tional School, 176, 177 ; of domes- 
tic science and art, Rochester, 178 ; 
Stout Institute, Menomonie, 178- 
181 ; of homemaking in Denmark, 
183-186 ; for training maids, Co- 
penhagen, 186 ; of housewifery, 
Toronto, 53, Greenfield, 53, 
Manchester, 52, Park Ridge, N. J., 
54, New York, 54, 55 ; Washing- 
ton Irving High School, New York, 
77, 78; Winthrop Normal and 
Industrial College, 80; home- 
makers, 178 ; coordination of, 239 ; 
prevocational, 275-277 ; reasons 
for leaving, 236 ; too much ex- 
pected from, 58, 59 ; luncheons in, 
99 ; methods in, stereotyped, 24 ; 
and stores, agreements between, 
372 ; credit in, for work in the 
home, 99-101 ; household arts in- 
struction in elementary, 33 ; sec- 
ondary and elementary, 168. 

School of salesmanship : objects of 



instruction in, 365; examinations 
in, 367, 368. 

Schmidlapp Bureau : 238. 

Seasonal nature of women's trades: 
257. 

Secondary schools and elementary 
schools: 168. 

Self-reliance not being developed : 64. 

Selling goods : methods of, 361. 

Sewing : 21, 22 ; and cookery instruc- 
tion, distribution of, 36, 37 ; lack 
of practical value of, 37, 38 ; exer- 
cise method of teaching, 39, 40 ; 
method of teaching in Belgium, 40, 
41 ; Ontario manual on, 44 ; taught 
by grade teachers, 44 ; neglected 
in training schools for teachers, 
43, 44. 

Shifting of employees : 259, 269. 

Shoreditch Trade School for Girls: 
175, 176. 

Short courses : at University of Mis- 
souri, 139, 140 ; at Cornell Univer- 
sity, 140; at secondary schools, 141. 

Simmons College, Boston : training 
trade school teachers at, 296. 

Sioux City : methods in, 82, 83. 

Skill : manipulative, 244. 

Skilled occupations : few open to 
women, 3 ; definition of, 250. 

Smith-Hughes Bill: 29, 31. 

Smith-Lever Bill : 29. 

Somerville, Mass. : 234. 

Speed and monotony in industry : 
265, 266. 

Specialization of ofl&ce work : 352. 

Spelling a measure of previous edu- 
cation : 329. 

Spending money : woman's chief func- 
tion, 85. 

Spinning craze in Boston : 227. 

Spinning mill at Beverly, Mass. : 227. 

Standardization of housekeeping : 
215. 

State program of instruction in house- 
hold arts : 25-28. 

Stores : cooperation of, with schools, 
364 ; instruction in, 368, 369 ; and 
schools, agreements between, 372 ; 
educational directors in, 369. 

Student aid fund : 287. 

Students in commercial schools : 335. 



INDEX 



429 



Sumner, Dr. Helen : 226. 

Survey : before establishing evening 

schools, 314, 315; in Richmond, 

252. 
Sweeney, Johanna, Miss : 22. 
System of unit courses : 127, 128. 

Teacher : of household arts, 55, 56 ; 
lacks home knowledge, 56; pre- 
liminary training of, 57 ; training 
in service, 58 ; for trade schools, 
245, 292, 296 ; for evening schools, 
315 ; for commercial classes, 351 ; 
of salesmanship, training, 373, 374. 
Terms : definition of, 17. 
Thorndike, Dr. Edward L. : 153, 

254. 
Time : division of, in prevocational 
schools, 155 ; waste of, in cookery 
instruction, 60. 
Toronto : housewifery school in, 53. 
Trade changing courses : 314. 
Trade extension courses : 314. 
Trades taught at Manhattan Trade 

School for Girls : 283, 289. 
Trade schools : 230, 231-277 : Mil- 
waukee, 173, 174 ; Shoreditch, 175, 
176; Albany, 176, 177; Man- 
hattan, 170-173 ; first in Europe, 
277; in London, 278-280; New 
York, 281-291 ; teachers for, 292 ; 
three kinds of teachers in, 293; 
training own staff, 295; prepara- 
tory, 313. 
Trade teachers: qualifications of, 

245 ; defects of, 296. 
Trade workers as teachers : 293. 
Traditions of day school : 125, 126. 
Trained and untrained : different 

wages of, 393-395. 
Training : away from unskilled jobs, 
264 ; need of, in department stores, 
371. 
Two-year course : aim of, 88. 

Union School of Salesmanship : Bos- 
ton, 363. 

Unit courses : 122-128, 140, 141 ; in 
evening schools, 321-325 ; in 
evening commercial schools, 358. 

University courses in household arts : 
87. 



Unskilled worker : 249 ; a common 
problem, 252; in Germany, 253; 
where obtained, 253, 257; indus- 
trial future of, 256, 257 ; reduction 
of supply of, 260, 261 ; training 
away from unskilled jobs, 264; 
physical training of, 269. 

Untrained and trained : different 
wages of, 393-395. 

Ursuline nuns at Quebec : work of, 18. 

Utilitarian advocates of household 
arts instruction, 34. 

Various groups of girls to be trained : 
272. 

Visiting nurse, the: 129; qualifica- 
tions of, 130; work of, 132; in 
rural districts, 134-136 ; of North 
Dakota Experiment Station, 137. 

Vocationalization of household arts 
instruction, 93. 

Vocational adviser : qualifications of, 
400-402. 

Vocational education: of women a 
separate problem, 2; assisted by 
federal governments, 28-30; re- 
port on, in Chicago, 165 ; National 
Commission on, 292 ; for the four- 
teen to sixteen year old girl, 234, 
235. 

Vocational guidance: 377; rise of, 
378; into local industries, 379; 
no new thing, 380 : National Asso- 
ciation for, 380 ; varying opinions 
on, 381 ; another form of voca- 
tional education, 382; in Edin- 
burgh, 383 ; in elementary schools, 
388 ; in high schools, 397 ; its ob- 
ject, 403. 

Vocational Schools: homemakmg 
training in, 170, 171 ; Albany, 176, 
177. 
Vocational survey. New York: re- 
port of, 235. 

Wages paid : 391-395. 
Waltham, Mass. : 227. 
Wanamaker store, Philadelphia : 362. 
War: effects of, on employment of 

women, 223-226. 
Washington Allston School, Boston: 

housekeeping activities at, 157. 



430 



INDEX 



Washington Irving High School, New 
York : apartment in, 77, 78 ; cur- 
riculum of, 79. 

Waste : of time in cookery instruc- 
tion, 60 ; elimination of, 378. 

Watertown : girls leaving factories in, 
257. 

Willard, Mrs. Emma Hart : 19. 

Winthrop Normal and Industrial 
College, 80. 

Women: in industry, 1, 219; gain- 
fully employed, 5 ; industrial life 
of, thought to be short, 5 ; must 
work, 10; and men, numbers of, 
11 ; numbers of, engaged in home- 
making, 16 ; as consumers, 24 ; as 
producers, 24 ; control markets, 25 ; 
responsibility, 25 ; institutes for, 
143-144 ; federation of clubs for, 
149-151 ; early industries of, 219, 



220 ; present industries of, 221 ; 
gainfully employed, 222 ; ef- 
fects of war upon employment of, 
223-226 ; first appearance of, in 
industry, 226 ; early vocational 
education for, 227 ; divided opin- 
ions on employment of, 229, 230 ; 
seasonal nature of trades for, 257 ; 
variety of occupations for, 325- 
327 ; in business, increase of, 
335. 

Women's Educational and Industrial 
Union: Boston, 306. 

Worcester, Mass. : 234. 

Work certificates : 238. 

Workers : unskilled, 249 ; migrations 
of, 380. 

Working day : length of, 329, 330. 

Working girls : in evening schools, 
326. 



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